After his overly ambitious, flawed experiment, THE FOUNTAIN, director Darren Aronofsky for THE WRESTLER dials back down to an indie scope where he shined in his debut film PI. Like the world of drug addicts in REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, Aronofsky creates the world of AAA-level local pro-wrestling with sadness and accuracy. When the screenplay plays too close to the well-worn script for underdog tales, Aronofsky just tags his teammates Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei and they deliver a smack down performance that wins the match.
Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Rourke, SIN CITY) was once on the top of the wrestling game, playing big matches in Madison Square Garden. Now he's performing gymnasiums for peanuts. His body is broken down. He lives in a trailer park and is behind on the rent. He works a day job at a grocery store. His college-aged daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE) hates him for choosing a rock 'n roll lifestyle over her. He confuses the attention of an aging stripper named Cassidy (Tomei, BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD) as real affection. Then after one particularly brutal match, Randy must confront the reality that he might be able to wrestle forever.
In capturing the masochist world of pro-wrestling, the film shows this entertainment as choreographed, but very much real. I have to disagree with LOS ANGELES TIMES critic Kenneth Turan when he calls one particularly brutal match fake. Mr. Turan has never seen the performances of Mick Foley, who uses barbed wire, or Abdullah the Butcher, who used forks and razorblades. And if you think The Ram is too old to be engaging in such hardcore action the Butcher retired this year at the age of 72. Turan also criticized another particular scene at the deli for its extreme violence, but while I'd admit it seems more like a metaphor than reality, it does fit with The Ram's character.
So who is Randy "The Ram" Robinson? Rourke plays the character, as his classic line states, like a broken down piece of meat. Meat is the key word in that description. For decades, he has abused his body mercilessly. He takes dozens of drugs for the pain and steroids to keep in bulky shape. He does this all for the cheers of the crowd. No matter how big or small, he loves his fans. He is the constant entertainer. While the '80s are long gone, he hasn't let them go with his metal rocker long blonde hair and love for the music of Poison and Guns 'N Roses. He also parties like it's the '80s, a time when he was much younger. He realizes that he's a screw up, but it's all he knows how to be. Rourke's performance is without reserve. He lays his soul bare on the screen.
Like Rourke, Tomei throws caution aside and exposes more than just her skin. As the aging stripper, she is too in a profession where your body is your tool. Like any tool, after time, it breaks down and isn't as perfect as it use to be. But one must note that any woman over 40 would kill to have Tomei's body. The difference between Tomei's character and The Ram is that she does not define herself through her profession. In the outside world of the club, she is Pam. Randy is a stage name for The Ram; he's embarrassed by his real name. Both are coming to the point where they have to reevaluate their professional lives. Their kids play a big part in their decisions.
Robert D. Siegel's screenplay has all the right notes in all the right places, but that's its problem sometimes. It feels like metaphor more than reality. Because the film is barebones, one is left with a lot of questions as well. What made Randy slip from the limelight? What happened to the money he made in his heyday? We're watching him hit rock bottom, but what started the initial slide? Age is not a problem in pro-wrestling, just look at Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. Why do guys like that stay superstars and why do guys like Randy "The Ram" Robinson fade into obscurity?
While THE WRESTLER isn't perfect, the foundation in its world is solid. The dedicated performances from all three leads (watch how Wood's Jersey accent comes out when she's mad) acts like the glue that fills in the screenplay's cracks. Randy isn't a bad guy, he's just a man stuck in a job that many of its fans outgrow long before his own age. His life has always been a house of cards — one he builds and knocks down and tries to build back up. It's not stable, but it’s a rush. And it's that rush that's the drug Randy is most addicted to.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
