The wrestler

I really cannot wait for Darren Aronofsky’s new movie Noah but until then I decided to rewatch another really good film made by him, the wrestler. If you consider his work you will discover that he hasn’t directed a lot of films and I am not sure if Noah will be what we are all expecting but anyway I am a fan. I still believe that one of his best is pi, black and white crazy genius mathematician that has discovered the number that unlocks the secrets of the universe being chased by Wall Street and Jewish agents, just brilliant. I consider the wrestler one of his sweet movies and a much more mature attempt compared to other films made by him. The difference lies to the fact that the film is not made having as a main purpose to shock the audience but to cause compassionate feelings and sympathy. It was also nominated for two Oscars but unfortunately Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei left empty handed. I am not sure if this was fair at least for Rourke since he lost from Sean Penn playing in milk and I don’t think that I will remember milk but I will not forget the wrestler.

The movie is all about performances based solely on Mickey Rourke’s persona. He plays a professional wrestler at his dawn of his career that makes a living out of doing part time jobs or occasional wrestling and still tries to preserve his vain image by spending a small fortune to anabolic drugs, doing solarium and bleaching his hair. Somehow not able to admit that his career is over, he suffers a heart attack and after facing death he decides to redefine himself, he tries to rebuild his relationship with his daughter, falls in love with a stripper played by Marisa Tomei and stops wrestling. But you know some things never change. Mickey Rourke’s performance is excellent and the way Aronofsky filmed it makes it a movie worth watching.

It is a heart touching drama, made with a very classical Darren Aronofsky way. You can spot scenes where the camera is attached to the body of the actor, the film is scored by Clint Mansell and the main character is a tragic figure that has his own sad story to say and cannot admit that he has to change. Often in his movies the characters suffer from all shorts of psychological issues, obsessions, drug addictions and have distorted images of them selves. I think through his movies he tries to reset society with a brutal and degenerative way that personally scares me but at the same time I find it fascinating. Nevertheless, the wrestler is not as hard as other films he has done. Overall a very good movie with impressive performances worth watching, it will definitely touch you for many different reasons.