January 2009
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The Wrestler (15)
Printed 14th January 2009

Sometimes roles cast themselves, the actor essential for the part so bleeding obvious it’s absurd to think of anyone else. This is one of those sometimes.

A Darren Aronofsky film (that could quite credibly be categorised as a docu-drama) in name, The Wrestler is all about one man: Mickey Rourke. Starring as the titular, Rourke is Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a washed-up, once-legendary wrestler now reduced to the local touring circuit.

Estranged from his daughter (a grown-up and gorgeous Evan Rachel Wood) and with a fruitless crush on a stripper (the milf-tastic and mostly topless Marisa Tomei), Randy lives life alone, unable to sustain any meaningful relationships except for that with his fans and the thrill of the ring. But if even that’s taken from you, what does it leave?

Mickey Rourke’s a good man to ask. Once upon the Eighties, Rourke was the “next big thing” before slipping into obscurity, drug-addiction and, bizarrely, a (successful!) boxing career. He’s been back making moves in the acting ring for a few years now (Man on Fire, Domino, Sin City), perhaps building up to this: his indisputable greatest ever performance and, just perhaps, one of the greatest leading men performances of all-time, full stop.

Lion-locked, paper-mâche faced and slam dunk-drunk, Randy fits Rourke like a pair of fluorescent, day-glo tights. Bearing a battered and scarred body and soul, Randy is funny, charming, friendly and, life living-wise, child-like. A real-world Rocky (or is that Mickey?) if you will. It’s a brilliant, beautiful and soul-bearing performance that can’t fail to move and surely, surely bring the man some much overdue re-recognition and, just maybe, some big awards to boot?

Of course as much as The Wrestler is the Mickey Rourke Show, it wouldn’t have been possible without one-of-a-kind director Darren Aronofsky. So normally the showman himself (often overshadowing the acting on-screen), Aronofsky appropriately puts his bags o’tricks away this time to turn in a Beyond the Mat-style, true-to-life uplifting underdog story. Utilising natural light and shaky docu-style hand-held cameras, gritty realism is the order of the day rather than slick mise-en-scène. He can’t resist a couple of chances to show off though (and why should he?), throwing in some Scorsese-style freeform tracking shots following Randy down long and winding corridors, either to a session in the ring or to a session behind the dreaded deli counter (the funniest scenes in the movie, along with a quality Cobain-bashing throwaway line of dialogue).

A raw ‘n’ real, sometimes sad, sometimes comical, sometimes satirical, sometimes celebratory, all enriching experience, The Wrestler is the first (of many you’d hope) five-star film of 2009. Lyrical and poignant, with the best male performance you’re likely to see this calendar year or for many more to come, it’s a must-see, must-be moved by (especially Rourke’s self-penned, from-the-heart closing stages speech) movie. Believe the hype.

*****