The Wrestler review
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I don’t know if you’ve been following the hype with the release of this film, mostly concerning Rourke’s “comeback”, but part of the excitement for me was picturing Aronofsky’s trademark directorial style in the mix – stopmotion sped up, quick montage of micro clips in sequence to convey an abstracted mood. Sadly there is none of that. But it’s a good film anyway. Marisa Tomei looks amazing at 44, Rourke does indeed deliver. It’s really a “small” film, and would be a downer for most. All the locations are decidedly authentic Jersey and non-Hollywood. It was a stark contrast to all the trailers beforehand (and to be fair, they are gearing up for spring blockbuster season) which all centered around mutants, apocalyptic scenarios, and science fiction. This was very much a film about, and set in reality, despite dealing with the human truth behind the fantasy industries of wrestling and stripping. No glamor here.
No spoilers, but at first, the ending didn’t sit well with me. It seemed somehow cliche “Hollywood”, but then thinking about it a bit, I realized there were at least two other directions they could have gone which would have been more “Hollywood”, both tragic and romantic. So in the end, I would recommend you see this film, but there’s no need to rush to the big screen. After scoring a hit with this stripped down work, an almost too deliberate move after The Fountain, I’ll be curious to see what Aronofsky does next. And Rourke for that matter.
