The Wrestler (***1/2)

This is, I suppose, the gritty, indie version of Rocky. Or Rocky V, perhaps. At any rate, it’s the story of an old-timer (Mickey Rourke) who’s seen the big time come and go, and now serves as a journeyman athlete-entertainer. Barely affording a North Jersey trailer home with income from a second job, he spends a good deal of of his non-working time preparing—pumping iron, dying his hair, doping, and acquiring props for use in the ring. Ex-boxer Rourke and director Darren Aronofsky beautifully depict this weekend warrior.

Aronofsky is known as the writer-director of such films as Pi and Requiem for a Dream. Here and in his forthcoming Robocop remake he works from someone else’s (here, Robert D. Siegel) script. This will likely seem a wise move if you’ve seen 2006’s muddled The Fountain, which confirmed Aronofsky as a better visual stylist than a writer. The story here isn’t fancy, and, surprisingly, neither is the camera work. The only time I really noticed the camera was in the beginning, when for at least five minutes it follows Rourke without showing his face.

Matching his character, Rourke’s is a face many won’t have seen for some time, although he has had supporting roles in some big movies like The Rainmaker and Sin City. Obviously we are to be shocked by the sight this powerful, muscular yet grizzled 50 year old, whose scars may come from Rourke’s days in the ring. Randy “The Ram” Robinson has lost (most of) his fame, all of his money, and his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood), with only a stripper-with-a-heart-of-gold (Marisa Tomei) to turn to. If this sounds perilously close to cliché, that’s about right. It is Sunset Boulevard with an athlete, or Raging Bull without the rage, except that “the Ram” isn’t chasing past glory, only the next paycheck and chance to entertain the crowd. Aronofsky and Siegel stay on the good side of sentimentality by keeping things in the present. Except for an opening montage, we merely infer Ram’s history.

Rocky Balboa is a good comparison because there the appeal is much more based on watching the character behave than the plot. For most of The Wrestler, this is more than enough. Since they make more movies about boxing than pro wrestling, the background scenes are especially intriguing. I know absolutely nothing about the sport, but the easy camaraderie among the fighters, the casual drug use, and the way they informally plot out the way the fight will go (it seems to be assumed who will “win”) seem true. The brilliantly shot fight scenes depict how the matches are faked (or choreographed, perhaps) as well as the extremely real physicality the fighters bring. (In one scene that’s both humorous and horrifying, an upcoming opponent asks Ram if he minds having a staple gun used on him.) One gets an inside-out, athlete’s-eye view of the match.

In the end, the movie sort of paints itself into a corner; plot-wise, all options are clichéed or dull. And so it simply ends. But the Ram is among the least forgettable of characters in 2008 cinema, and, despite the somber tone, this is easily the most entertainment I’ve ever gotten out of pro wrestling.

IMDB link

viewed 1/12/09 at Ritz Bourse; reviewed 1/18/09