Friday 20 March 2009

Movie Review of The Wrestler


The Wrestler - 8/10
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Cast - Mickey Rourke,Marissa Tomei,Rachel Evan Woods

Plot Summary
A drama centered on retired professional wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson as he makes his way through the independent circuit, trying to get back in the game for one final showdown with his former rival.

Review
After watching the trailer(which totally moved me),I was eagerly waiting for the movie.As what the trailer says,witness the resurrection of Mickey Rourke,it is true.A truly amazing,emotional stellar performance from Mickey Rourke.What a comeback...I used to love watching Rourke's older movies.My favourites has always been,Angel heart,9 1/2 weeks,Harley Davidson and The Marlboro Man.Then when he did a shit movie called Double Team with Jean Claude Van Damme and Dennis Rodman,directed by Tsui Hark(FUCK HIM),It was his downfall.But after this movie,I'm happy to say that Mr Rourke is back.From what I read,the main lead was supposed to go to Nicolas Cage but Aronofsky wanted Rourke and Cage being a good friend of Rourke graciously gave it to him.As this is a low budget movie(which I think suits Aronofsky better),Rourke did this movie for free.It was also at this point of time when Mickey Rourke was at his lowest and decided to do the movie as the character he was acting was just like what he became.
Mickey Rourke who also used to be a professional boxer said this was the most hardest movie he has done,both physically and mentally.For 6 months,he trained under an ex Israeli soldier in the gym to build his body up and trained for 4 months under an ex Samoan wrestling trainer.Even though Marissa Tomei and Rachel Evan Woods did a great job in their respective roles(Marissa Tomei looks hot!!!),this movie is clearly Mickey Rourke and no one is gonna steal his thunder.
Direction for this movie was great if not brilliant.Aronofsky ended the movie same way as he ended Requiem for a Dream...sad and depressing.I loved the camera works and the cinematography which really helped capture the emotions from the actors.A lot of track shots were used and handheld cameras also which gives a more gritty,edgy feel to it.Another good thing about this movie is the soundtrack.Alot of 80's glam rock songs were used.and one particular Guns N Roses song was used for the entrance music of Mickey Rourke's character,Randy "The Ram" Robinson.Aronofsky told Rourke he couldn't afford to pay any royalties to the bands for their music,so Rourke(who happens to be a good friend) asks Axl Rose if he could use the song for free and Axl obliged.Rourke said in an interview he used to use this song as the entrance music during his boxing days.The song was Sweet Child O' Mine.And for the theme song which I really hope it will win an Oscar for best Song,Rourke wrote a letter to Bruce Springsteen telling him about the movie he was acting in and all.Bruce Springsteen wrote,played and sang the song,'The Wrestler' for free.
I just love it when a director and his actors have a splendid chemistry and they make a great movie no matter how simple it is.The Wrestler is just like that.

I strongly recommend everyone to watch this movie.But do not watch this movie if it is censored,because it will totally ruin the experience.I really hope the censorship or the distributors release this movie uncut as it is a masterpiece.
Last but not least,Mickey Rourke deserved to win best actor for the Globes and Bafta.

Best Quote
Randy 'The Ram' Robinson: I'm an old broken down piece of meat and I deserve to be all alone, I just don't want you to hate me.

Randy 'The Ram' Robinson: In this life you can lose everything you love, everything that loves you. Alot of people told me that I'd never wrestle again, the only one that's gonna tell me when I'm through doing my thing, is you people here.


Recommended movies by the director
Requiem for a dream
Pi
The Fountain

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