casting genius

Rating: 8/10 (9 March 2011)

Randy "The Ram" is an aging wrestler, a respected, almost venerated veteran of the ring on weekends, but a grocery clerk living a lonely existence in his trailer park home the rest of the time. The physical and pharmaceutical abuse over the years catches up with him, and he is forced into a re-evaluation of his life.
Mickey Rourke's comeback is now the stuff of legend, and he is so convincing as The Ram here that it is difficult to remember the incredulity, the sneering, that initially greeted the idea of Rourke carrying a film made in 2008. "Comeback" is also slightly misleading, because the Rourke who charmed us in Diner and seduced us in 9½ Weeks is a completely different animal from the pumped up, haggard, speech slurring wreck of a man The Ram has become.
This is nothing less than an acting masterclass. You feel every grunt and gasp as The Ram stretches a muscle, bathes a cut, or has a staple pulled from his skin. Aronofsky said in an interview that Rourke is an actor who remembers his lines after you shoot the scene - that is surely a joke, as Rourke exceeds the physicality of his role to give moving speeches, most notably when telling his estranged daughter how sorry he is (before messing up royally again), and in his showcase bout with a former nemesis, when he shows he has true love in his life - with his audience.
This is a small film with a big heart, the quiet tale of one man's obsession with his job and failure to match that dedication in his personal relationships. Rourke gets strong support from Marisa Tomei as Cassidy, or possibly Pam, a stripper with her own relationship issues, who struggles to resist her feelings for Randy. Evan Rachel Wood as Randy's daughter Stephanie convinces, as do the other players in small roles, most notably a vicious, small-minded store boss who is as much a sociopath as any David Brent, and will rings bells for suffering employees in workplaces around the globe.
The locations ooze grit, the hand-held camera keeps it all tight and intimate, and the script is spare and colloquial. The true genius was having the vision to see that Rourke would pull off this role. A satisfying movie with a startling 'making of' backstory.