The Wrestler review from TIFF ’08

Our last film of the trip to TIFF ’08 is The Wrestler, directed by Darren Aronofsky, starring Mickey Rourke.  We took our seats in the front row and glanced around at the celebs that attended this North American premiere.  There was everyone from Marilyn Manson to Adrian Brody to Gerard Butler in attendance.  I was excited but not sure what to expect since there hasn’t been a trailer released yet.  Early word seemed to be good though, and I thought the Golden lion award at Venice was surprising.  So anyway, Aronofsky, Rourke and Evan Rachel Wood left the stage and the film began.

I was instantly sucked in.  Mickey Rourke who plays Randy “The Ram” Robinson carries the film on his shoulders like the warrior he portrays.  The film follows him in his washed up years as he battles to make a buck working at ACME during the week and doing his wrestling gigs on the weekends.  He doesn’t really have anyone in his life except his fans, and the children in his neighborhood.  He takes usual advice from a stripper Cassidy, played by Marisa Tomei, who may or may not be interested in being with him.  He then tries to patch up his relationship with his daughter Stephanie, played by Evan Rachel Wood.

As the film came to an end I was blown away and deeply moved.  Aronofsky and Rourke have created something special with this film.  I’m not saying this because the whole experience was really cool.  The film itself is truly amazing, and close to perfection.  Every once in awhile you get a film that mixes all the right ingredients and produces something extraordinary and The Wrestler does just that.

Mickey Rourke’s performance is breathtaking, it’s the best I’ve seen all year, hands down.  He makes you laugh when everything in his life is going fine and nearly cry when times are hard.  He is up and down the whole film as he portrays Randy outside the ring and transforms into “The Ram” inside of it.  It is a role that is very believable, which Rourke absolutely dominates.  An amazing performance, that is definitely Oscar worthy.

The supporting cast is also very good, with solid performances from Tomei and Wood.  The beautiful-bodied Marisa Tomei had really good chemistry with Rourke and I enjoyed every time they were on screen together.  Did I mention she has a beautiful body?  The equally beautiful Evan Rachel Wood had a lot of emotional scenes in the film and she really impressed me.  She pulled off a pretty damn good performance while also having good chemistry with Rourke.

Visionary director Darren Aronofsky takes his career to a completely different level.  He has never done anything like this film before, but at the same time you can almost feel his style wrapped in every frame.  It moves away from the big visionary direction he has gone in the past and with this creates something simpler, but in a way it has a strange beauty.   He takes a straightforward story and turns it into a deep, dark, original film.  He is one of the best directors working in the business and with The Wrestler it shows.

The cinematography is simple but still impressive.  Clint Mansell’s score is phenomenal when used.  The 80’s soundtrack is clutch and fit perfectly.  Bruce Springsteen’s original song” The Wrestler” in the closing credits was simply fantastic.  I could go on and on.

The Wrestler, is so much more then just a wrestling movie.  Being a fan of professional wrestling in the early 90’s and also being from New Jersey, where the film was shot, I could relate to the film in a big way.  I am excited to see what people will think, I really believe people will fall in love with it like I did.  Thankfully, The Wrestler, picked up a US distributor in Fox Searchlight, Monday morning, after the screening.  Will other critics love it as much as me? Time will tell.  Will the Academy embrace it as an Oscar contender? Who knows?  All I know is I can’t wait to see it again.

Imdb: 9.5

Rotten Tomatoes: N/A

Moviewiseguys: 10/10

MADE!!!