The Wrestler

Saw this the other day and thought I'd document a few musings about it.

Firstly, I've been watching Aronofsky from afar with interest ever since Pi. I didn't particularly warm to Pi but I did appreciate it as the expression of a really dynamic and unique cinematic voice. Meanwhile, Requiem for a Dream is the closest I've ever come to walking out of a cinema because I was so disturbed (it was what she had to do at that guy's flat to get the drugs...). That said, I thought it was an excellent film, and, since for me film is all about being moved, that film moved me so far I was nearly out of the door. He's not been especially prolific, but he seems to have chosen carefully, and he has been investing a lot of time in producing as well as directing his work - he actually produced 'The Wrestler', and as you might have read, I'm quite in awe of people who take on both those roles.

But of course, the public hero of the film is Rourke. In truth, I've only ever seen him in Rumblefish and 9 1/2 weeks so I don't claim to have followed his career in detail. I have however, seen various interviews with him, discussing his troubled life, boxing era, and second shot at Hollywood (he seems genuinely humble about being granted another opportunity) - so I'm aware of the autobiographical dimension to the role. In some way, this threatened to impinge on me viewing his performance objectively. Sometimes when I was watching him I just kept thinking, shit he hasn't got the same body as 9 1/2 weeks. There was absolutely something deliberately grostesque about his body and the rest of his physical appearance (that hair!). But this of course complements some of the inherently unlikable aspects of his personality, and is what creates a well-built unsettling feeling as we are challenged to try and warm to this flawed hero. He frustrates us at times, constantly getting his priorities in the wrong order which leads to some catastrophic events including his final nail in the coffin of his relationship with his daughter.

Aronfsky really must be credited for mixing in a quasi-documentary feel at some points - the customers at the meat counter, for example, feel so natural that this could believably be a doc. That really dazzled me.

I'm interested that Marisa Tomei has been nominated as best supporting actress for her role as a stripper/mother with whom Randy (Rourke) has an increasingly warm relationship, which also ends up combusting. This has prompted various outbursts on film forums suggesting that no-one deserves an Oscar for just playing a generic stripper. I did feel that this smacked of misogyny and I must say that when I emerged from the film - and let me preface this by saying I have no underlying feminist sensibility - I was disappointed by the lack of any leading female characters with any depth. Our females are very stereotyped really - the stripper/the angsty teen/the groupie - and I just found that a bit disheartening, but I can't criticise the film for it as it's only derived from the story. However, all in all the film has a very classic Hollywood narrative which is quite predictable. The end leaves us hanging, but I think we know deep down what happened.

Anyway, I found The Wrestler very accomplished filmmaking, with an execution more reminiscent of something independent from Europe. Aronofsky is currentl working on an adaptation of Robocop - I'm not sure how much of an independent sensbility he will be able to retain there, but we'll see.

Postscript: Mickey Rourke might take up wrestling for real - I love it!