Post by MetalBlade on Jan 9, 2009 8:49:56 GMT -1
I believe I must be the first person on here to see the new movie The Wrestler, and here are my thoughts.
*SAFE TO READ - NO SPOILERS INCLUDED*
Well, Darren Aronovsky's much talked about film The Wrestler has finally been seen by yours truly, and I can say that it's pretty much a triumph both as a film, but mostly as a performance by Mickey Rourke.
I have always been a big fan of Rourke, seeing him as a largely ingnored cross between Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson. I recently watched Angel Heart again, and if ever there was any doubt as to the guy's talent as an actor, then look no further - until now.
His portrayal as washed-up, beaten and bruised 80's icon Randy "The Ram" Robinson is way way more than I ever expected from Rourke. The first thing that strikes you is his face. And what a face. He looks so freakish these days that he is unrecogniseable from the stud he was in the eighties. And yet these freakish results of cosmetic surgery actually enhance his portrayal as "Ram".
And then you hear the voice. He has one of the most incredible voices this side of Brian Blessed, and as you all know, wrestlers tend to have these deep husky baritone voices. What is it about them which makes the voice go like that? Hogan, Savage, Jake, Dibiase, even the likes of Shawn Michaels and the late Brian Pillman. They all had it.
And Rourke has it too.
And finally there is the physique. Rourke has always kept himself in shape since his boxing days, but in this he is buff as fuck!
He at no point appears out of place in the ring or around the other real wrestlers. And in the scenes where he actually wrestles - of which there are not that many to be honest - he looks the part and moves correctly, if a little stiffly, but that is part of Ram's character.
He is a broken down, battered shadow of his former self, still clinging tenuously to his former legendary status.
Kind of like what Scott Steiner is doing today...
But the story basically is like a reverse Rocky, where Ram was hot property back in the heyday of the eighties. He was the Hulk Hogan/Randy Savage character with all the fame and glory.
And then came the next twenty years...
Pretty much homeless, and broke, the story is rather cliched in many places, and it's also depressing thanks to Aronofsky almost documentary style.
I've never been a fan of Aronofsky's films, but this linear, straight story is made compelling by Rourke's incredible many-layered portrayal of a forgotten hero. He is Stupid, gullible, honest, endearing and remorseful. Yet when he is in the company of peers doing the only thing he knows how to do, he is electrifying.
The film made me think of something that will forever stick in my head, which was a short segment from Hogan Knows Best, where Hulk returns to WWE for the spot where he kicked the shit out of Muhammad Hassan at WrestleMania.
Hogan is alone in the locker room, strapping up his leg brace, doing a few painful looking stretches and generally looking and sounding like a very frail, albeit very muscular, old man.
Then, his music hits and he comes out looking every bit the super-hero we all loved and remembered. This lasts moments, as he basks in the limelight, before disappearing behind the curtain and hobbling back to the dressing room, once again the frail old man.
It made me feel sad, and a bit guilty. No idea why.
But this film made me feel the same way.
It in no way patronises the sport we love, or treats the performers or fans with any disrespect, but rather depicts the scene as what many of us knows it is really like, but choose to ignore for the sake of our own enjoyment, regardless of how things really tick backstage.
There is very little to compare with the WWE of today, as I don't believe any of the legends of old have fallen on such hard times as The Ram.
With only the exception of Jake The Snake.
This is the closest I can compare the role to any wrestling name of today, and I don't pretend to know Jake's life outside the ring, only what I read like everyone else. But I imagine Jake has the same sadness running through his life as Randy The Ram has.
Sure it's all self-inflicted, but that doesn't make it any less tragic.
So after a long and rambling assessment of The Wrestler, I would urge everyone who has even an inkling of nostalgia for our long-since-peaked sport, then you simply have to see the film.
I've not seen many other films this year which are likely to grab Oscars and such, but I'd definitely give this a nod. If only for Mickey Rourke's role of a lifetime.
It really is a masterclass.
*SAFE TO READ - NO SPOILERS INCLUDED*
Well, Darren Aronovsky's much talked about film The Wrestler has finally been seen by yours truly, and I can say that it's pretty much a triumph both as a film, but mostly as a performance by Mickey Rourke.
I have always been a big fan of Rourke, seeing him as a largely ingnored cross between Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson. I recently watched Angel Heart again, and if ever there was any doubt as to the guy's talent as an actor, then look no further - until now.
His portrayal as washed-up, beaten and bruised 80's icon Randy "The Ram" Robinson is way way more than I ever expected from Rourke. The first thing that strikes you is his face. And what a face. He looks so freakish these days that he is unrecogniseable from the stud he was in the eighties. And yet these freakish results of cosmetic surgery actually enhance his portrayal as "Ram".
And then you hear the voice. He has one of the most incredible voices this side of Brian Blessed, and as you all know, wrestlers tend to have these deep husky baritone voices. What is it about them which makes the voice go like that? Hogan, Savage, Jake, Dibiase, even the likes of Shawn Michaels and the late Brian Pillman. They all had it.
And Rourke has it too.
And finally there is the physique. Rourke has always kept himself in shape since his boxing days, but in this he is buff as fuck!
He at no point appears out of place in the ring or around the other real wrestlers. And in the scenes where he actually wrestles - of which there are not that many to be honest - he looks the part and moves correctly, if a little stiffly, but that is part of Ram's character.
He is a broken down, battered shadow of his former self, still clinging tenuously to his former legendary status.
Kind of like what Scott Steiner is doing today...
But the story basically is like a reverse Rocky, where Ram was hot property back in the heyday of the eighties. He was the Hulk Hogan/Randy Savage character with all the fame and glory.
And then came the next twenty years...
Pretty much homeless, and broke, the story is rather cliched in many places, and it's also depressing thanks to Aronofsky almost documentary style.
I've never been a fan of Aronofsky's films, but this linear, straight story is made compelling by Rourke's incredible many-layered portrayal of a forgotten hero. He is Stupid, gullible, honest, endearing and remorseful. Yet when he is in the company of peers doing the only thing he knows how to do, he is electrifying.
The film made me think of something that will forever stick in my head, which was a short segment from Hogan Knows Best, where Hulk returns to WWE for the spot where he kicked the shit out of Muhammad Hassan at WrestleMania.
Hogan is alone in the locker room, strapping up his leg brace, doing a few painful looking stretches and generally looking and sounding like a very frail, albeit very muscular, old man.
Then, his music hits and he comes out looking every bit the super-hero we all loved and remembered. This lasts moments, as he basks in the limelight, before disappearing behind the curtain and hobbling back to the dressing room, once again the frail old man.
It made me feel sad, and a bit guilty. No idea why.
But this film made me feel the same way.
It in no way patronises the sport we love, or treats the performers or fans with any disrespect, but rather depicts the scene as what many of us knows it is really like, but choose to ignore for the sake of our own enjoyment, regardless of how things really tick backstage.
There is very little to compare with the WWE of today, as I don't believe any of the legends of old have fallen on such hard times as The Ram.
With only the exception of Jake The Snake.
This is the closest I can compare the role to any wrestling name of today, and I don't pretend to know Jake's life outside the ring, only what I read like everyone else. But I imagine Jake has the same sadness running through his life as Randy The Ram has.
Sure it's all self-inflicted, but that doesn't make it any less tragic.
So after a long and rambling assessment of The Wrestler, I would urge everyone who has even an inkling of nostalgia for our long-since-peaked sport, then you simply have to see the film.
I've not seen many other films this year which are likely to grab Oscars and such, but I'd definitely give this a nod. If only for Mickey Rourke's role of a lifetime.
It really is a masterclass.
