Aronofsky and Rourke's realism brings "Wrestler" to near-documentary status

Rating: 8/10 (19 February 2009)

It's hard to remember that "The Wrestler" isn't actually about Mickey Rourke. Not only is that testament to the performance that Rourke gives, but to his perfect casting in the part. Someone looking to resurrect his career, Rourke is the best choice for Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a former pro-wrestling star whose decides to end his washed up career and find life outside of wrestling. So it's not so coincidental when Randy tells Marissa Tomei's character that "the 90s sucked." It couldn't be truer for Rourke. Creator Darren Aronofsky was right to argue for him--this film would have been a footnote in independent film-making with Nicholas Cage in the lead. Instead, "The Wrestler" achieves an incredibly life-like, documentary style status that speaks way more to one man's personal journey through the eyes of Rourke.
The film is not so foreign in nature--it's a story about an aging once-famous professional wrestler and how age and reality catches up to him. We've seen this story in other forms, but it takes on a visceral and often times gruesome reality in the form of a pro wrestler. We all come to grips with sacrificing part of what it is we do, but for someone that routinely takes steroids and beats himself up, it's much more extreme and provides a unique visual storytelling opportunity.
Aronofsky ("Requiem for a Dream") shows that his domain is not just the abstract and doing visually interesting things with a camera. The film's documentary shooting style is so convincing that you often times forget there was a lot of creative energy going into the story. Aronofsky carefully plans how to make his shots not look too carefully planned. It seems pretty simple, but in reality I can't imagine it was easy to ignore the impulse to do certain traditional shots and instead find a way to film the scene in a less Hollywood-like fashion.
Rourke really helps sell the documentary style. His performance is not over-dramatic at all. With the exception of one critical turning point scene in the film, his acting is reserved and completely convincing. You never once see a man trying to be a wrestler, you see a wrestler. It's easy to mistake that kind of performance for being just okay when in reality it's amazing. Rourke will likely never play a better role in his life and it comes just when he needs it.
Supporting actresses Tomei, Randy's stripper love interest, and Evan Rachel Wood, Randy's daughter that he tries to reconnect with, are also strong. Maybe Tomei has finally reached the apex of portraying promiscuous or a-moral characters. I think this role shows that she can hold her own even with her clothes on. Wood ("Across the Universe") has me convinced that she will be a top actress of her generation. She's just a big role or two away.
"The Wrester" resonates as a movie exactly about what the title suggests. It's a simple but elegant story of how a wrestler, well, wrestles with retirement and what happens when someone creates an identity like that, that strong of a false persona, and tries to redefine it after twenty-some years. Much like its film-making, "The Wrester" is a simple, effective and amazingly realistic film. While Aronofsky didn't get the Oscar credit, his resume certainly would lead anyone to believe that he will get his due if he chooses the right project.