Friday, January 9, 2009

Movie review and talent interviews: The Wrestler

By Alex Bentley

Director Darren Aronofsky has dealt with a lot of angst in his short but acclaimed career. In Pi, his ultra-indie feature debut, the protagonist was a tortured mathematician with painful migraines who was being pursued by groups out to get his secret formula. In Requiem for a Dream, he goes back-and-forth between four characters, all of whom are addicted to one drug or another, and none of whose stories end well. And in The Fountain, Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman are – yep – tortured lovers who can never seem to live happily ever after, no matter what century they're in.

Now comes The Wrestler, a film about a grappler trying to hang onto fading glory, despite multiple physical obstacles. And even though there's not a lot of happiness to be found in the film, it could actually be called Aronofsky's most hopeful film, as the lead character has a modicum of good things happen to him, though some of them turn out to be short-lived.

Mickey Rourke plays Randy “The Ram” Robinson (hint: not his real name), a wrestler who gained his fame in the 1980s, especially through a rivalry with a foe called The Ayatollah (ah, remember when Iran was the worst enemy we had?). 20 years later, Ram is still at it, taking small-time gigs in podunk towns on the weekends. He's still the headliner, but mostly because of the respect the promoters and other wrestlers have for him.

The years have not been kind to either Rourke or his character.

Aronofsky and writer Robert D. Siegel take the approach of debunking the myths of wrestling while also showing just how brutal it can be in spite of its phoniness. Ram makes sure to talk with his opponent prior to each match to choreograph their moves around the ring. Ram also has a hearing aid that he discreetly takes off before entering the locker room, no doubt the result of repeated blows to the head. Not everything is fake, though, as one of the matches Ram competes in is a brutal, no-holds-barred type, complete with a staple gun, barbed wire, and thumb tacks strewn about the ring to inflict more damage.

When not chasing the ghost, Ram works part-time at a grocery store, then spends what little money he earns at a strip club, paying particular attention to Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), whose own life as a stripper is almost a mirror of what Ram is facing. When Ram finally admits that his years of battering his body are starting to wear him down, Cassidy convinces him to try to make amends with his estranged daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood). Much of the film focuses on Ram's struggles between his desire to keep on fighting the good fight or settling down and trying to make a life with his daughter and possibly Cassidy.

The parallels between Rourke and Ram are undeniable. Like Ram, Rourke is a faded star who's hung around the fringes of his profession, still hoping to make it back to the big time. A speech Ram gives to fans toward the end of the film was reported to have been improvised by Rourke, and the impassioned monologue is both the high note and low note of the film, cementing the greatness of Rourke's performance while also showing just how tormented his character is.

Um, yeah, not all wrestling is fake.

A film about wrestling is not the kind of choice the normally high-minded Aronofsky would seem to want, but he's able to infuse a level of respectability to a sport that doesn't get much in the real world. In showing Ram's (and other wrestlers') dedication to a craft for which they receive almost no money and multiple health problems, Aronofsky has made that world more accessible and infinitely more interesting.

Unlike The Fountain, which was very 2001: A Space Odyssey-ish in its baffling storytelling, The Wrestler is very straightforward with its plot. In that respect, this is perhaps Aronofsky's most audience-friendly film. Whether that had to do with using another writer's script (this was the first time he has directed a film that he didn't also write) or making a conscious choice to not overly complicate things, Aronofsky could find another level of success from this film.

Tomei in one of the few scenes where she keeps her clothes on.

Rourke's fantastic performance is aided by solid turns from Tomei and Wood, both of whom are more than able foils for Rourke to spar with. Tomei in particular is memorable, though this also has something to do with the fact that she's topless for many of her scenes, a career choice with which I am not complaining.

Rourke may not win the Oscar for The Wrestler (Sean Penn's performance in Milk is the one to beat), but he obviously gave his all to the role and deserves to at least be nominated. The film as a whole doesn't enthrall all the way through, but it's another solid entry in the crowded winter season.

I sat in on round table interviews with both director Darren Aronofsky and actress Marisa Tomei on November 20 at The Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas. The contrast between the two sessions was striking, as Aronofsky's consisted of five people being allowed to talk with him in depth about the meanings of the film, while Tomei's grew more crowded with starstruck college-age guys who apparently just wanted the chance to be close to here (literally -- one guy sat next to her and didn't ask a single question).

Also, while Tomei couldn't detail certain aspects about her performance and generally gave standard pat responses, Aronofsky was thoughtful, illuminating, and gregarious. Of course, since he saw the film all the way through its process (he didn't write it, but did help develop the story), he would be more knowledgeable about it overall. Here are the highlights of the vastly different interviews (Aronofsky's lasts for over 37 minutes, while Tomei's lasts for just over 12):

Tomei:

* Why the bleak New Jersey skies played a part in her preparation for the role.

* Why she's happy to do both comedy and drama

* Why she considers her recent critically-acclaimed roles more luck than anything else

* What she thought about working with Mickey Rourke

* Why she wasn't really scared about doing stripper scenes or showing off her body

Aronofsky (try to ignore the background chatter):

* Why his interview chair made him feel like a king

* Why not being the writer of the film actually helped the filmmaking process

* How research helped shape the story and how the finished product has affected real wrestlers

* The similarities between Rourke's and Tomei's characters and why her character being a stripper was inevitable

* Why the critical acclaim for the film and Rourke is beyond his expectations

* Why Rourke was always the first choice for the role and how Aronofsky had to push him to do his best

* How he balanced the humor and the drama of the film

* Why the Ram's story is universal

* Why Axl Rose got a special thanks in the credit (and why Bruce Springsteen did the closing song for free)

* Why a wrestler named "Necro Butcher" made a significant contribution to the film

* How they got a Ram Nintendo video game into the film

* Why The Wrestler represents a new chapter in his filmmaking career

* How they were able to set up the wrestling scenes and how fun they were

* Why making a comedy is not out of the question for him in the future

* How the Ram's final speech was part-script, part-Mickey Rourke improvisation

Related stories

• AFI Dallas sneak previews: Your first look at a slew of films from the festival lineup (March 26, 2009)
• Video: Pegnews film guys in Oscar preview mode (Feb. 18, 2009)
• Pegasus News week in view: New day edition (Jan. 8, 2009)

See more stories in:

• Arts > Movies / Film > Independent Films

Comments

chrisdanger Anonymous

Marisa Tomei has and will always be smoking hot. Rourke also turns in one of his best heartfelt performances in any film. This and JCVD have become two of my favorite "introspective" films as of late..

5 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Jeremy Dunck Staff

"will always be"

Chris, ashes and dust, alas.

5 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Pavel Lishin Verified

Jeremy: man, there you go, judging other people's tastes and desires. Just because he doesn't discriminate on the basis of respiration or circulation...

5 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )