"The only place I get hurt is out there."
Darren Aronofsky has certainly achieved something special in this film, which centers around the personal life of the has-been wrestler. It was the underdog of the year for sure, but it makes my sixth favorite film of the year.
The story centers around has-been wrestler and partial loser Randy "The Ram" Ramzinski, as played amazingly by Mickey Rourke. He still wrestles in small gigs on weekends, though lives in a rented trailer that he can't keep up on in rent payments. His relationship with his daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) is too estranged to seem salvageable, but God knows he tries, while his friendship with Pam (Marisa Tomei)[aka: Cassidy the exotic dancer] strains as she doesn't like making any sort of relationship with a customer. All of these things contribute to Randy's life being dismal at best, as his ailing health motivates him to take a different perspective on things, and try and salvage what's left in his life worth saving. Although this not being a feel good film, then it's doubtful from the get-go that he'll accomplish either of those things.
Throughout the film, I couldn't help but notice that this wasn't really following any life changing events, or anything special in particular despite that Randy attempts at changing his life for the better. For the film is just comprised of seemingly boring scenes of a loser's life that for some reason make this film incredibly watchable. It reminded me of how uneventful my life is in retrospect to my friends who departed for universities, except obviously vastly different. But the jist of boredom still exists in both realms. Perhaps that's why I liked this film so much, cuz I really can't think of any other reason.
Mickey Rourke's performance IS the one and only reason to see this movie. It's as if Aronofsky was trying to make a point by casting a has-been actor in a film which has nothing to showcase except the acting of its lead character, as not much else interesting is in the film to watch. For even Mickey's wrestling is believable given his pre-production training with pro-wrestler "Afa the Wild Samoan" who trained him exceedingly well for the part. Considering that Mickey's career choices have been really odd, such as turning down leading roles in "Pulp Fiction," "The Untouchables," "Beverly Hills Cop, "The Silence of the Lambs," "Rain Man," "48hrs," "Highlander," and "Platoon." Those things considered, then it seems all the more surreal to cast a has-been in a movie about a has-been from a staged sport. But Mickey Rourke successfully proved that he's still got it with a Golden Globe & BAFTA Award for his role in the film.
As for the co-stars, they were good, but are overshadowed by Mickey's performance, which may be an even better explanation as to why they don't really go anywhere in the movie, while Mickey doesn't either, but he seems to provide everything to the story unlike the co-stars. Though Marisa Tomei is the only one of them worth mentioning, as her role was great too.
One major aspect I liked about the movie was showing the scam that the sport of wrestling is, such as the whole thing from beginning to end is planned beforehand, such as which moves will be used, but not when they'll be used, as well as who's Face & Heel, and more importantly, who'll win the match and on what move will they win it by. Those things add to the sham of the already boring sport of overly trivial competitors who mostly seem too feminine to be taken seriously, although luckily, THAT aspect is not focused on at all in the film, which is a major plus which plays well with the story being told. Despite all that, the sport itself is still pretty grueling in the graphic nature that its depicted in the film.
The visuals also accompany these things, as the lighting is always brighter and hotter in the ring in contrast to the overcast skies and cold weather that's featured in the rest of the film. It's a good play by Aronofsky who perfectly conveyed the highlights and downsides of Randy's life via the weather and temperature.
Overall, this was an excellent underdog film about a has-been wrestler who himself is an underdog in the film as the viewer constantly questions his ability to succeed at turning his life around for the better. It was a well deserved BAFTA/Golden Globe win for Rourke, and if he keeps up with this great acting, then I definitely will look forward to future leading roles that this flick could bring.
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