THE WRESTLER on DVD and Blu-ray this week

Mickey Rourke gives the performance of a lifetime as pro wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a former superstar now paying the price for twenty years of grueling punishment in and out of the ring. But he's about to risk everything to prove he has one more match left in him: a re-staging of his famous Madison Square Garden bout against "The Ayatollah."

The Blu-ray edition.

Features:
Within the Ring: A no holds barred one on one with real wrestlers and filmmakers
Wrestler Round Table: The gritty truth behind the scenes of wrestling with Hall of Famers
The Wrestler Music Video: Performed by Bruce Springsteen






Features:
- Within the Ring - A No-Holds-Barred One-on-One with Wrestlers and Filmmakers
- "The Wrestler" Music Video - Written and Performed by Bruce Springsteen


BIGFANBOY.com special notes:

One of my favorites from 2008. Mickey Rourke truly was born to play this role, and Darren Aronofsky's direction is spot on. Whether you've ever been a fan of wrestling or not, there is no denying the powerful storytelling in this solid film. - Mark Walters





A seasons back there was this documentary entitled Beyond the Mat which was about professional wrestling. One of the featured performers was Jake 'The Snake', a former Superstar of Wrestling who had fallen on hard times. This once famous wrestler still performed, but it was in small venues for little money. He was on the outside rail of fame but still believed that someday he could rebuild his career and be back on top. It was heartbreaking to watch how the mighty had fallen. The fictionalized version of that story is the latest Mickey Rourke vehicle, The Wrestler.

Rourke is Randy 'The Ram” Robinson - a professional wrestler from the 1980's who is a good twenty years past his prime. He now works on the weekends in small independent rings with guys who are striving to go up the very ladder he is coming down. After one bout, a promoter wants to do a 20th anniversary rematch of his most famous exhibition with a bad guy named the Ayatollah. It was a match that originally happened at Madison Square Garden. Randy agrees, thinking that this could be the one that puts him back on the right side of fame.

The Ram's personal life is past being in shambles. He lives in a trailer that he keeps getting locked out of for non-payment of rent. Basically he now lives in a Dodge Ram that saw its best days in the 1980's. During the down times between matches, he works loading trucks at a supermarket. He avoids being near regular people because he doesn't want to be recognized as a common worker and not a wrestling superstar. Also during the downtimes, he frequents a strip bar and sees an older stripper named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei). She just treats him as another customer, though a semi-famous one. But with the occasional catcall she hears from stage, she knows that Randy isn't the only one past their prime on a stage.
The Ram also has a grown daughter named Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood). She is the by-product of her father's neglect, and is past the point of being estranged from her father. There is some true hatred in her eyes when he shows up unexpectedly. Trying to build a separate life, she has no place in her existence for a broken down wrestler. As much as he clumsily tries to make amends, she refutes his advances.

We see Randy before and during these low-level matches. It is world full of tanning, primping, and massive drug use. It seems that everyone in this world needs pain medicine and steroids just to survive. In one scene, Randy cuts himself because the people who frequent these low level entertainment events want blood and loads of it. After one particularly brutal event where Randy is beaten, cut, barb wire impaled, and even stapled by an opponent, he collapses. He is sent to the hospital and almost dies. The doctor tells him that he must stop doing everything he is doing to his body - no drugs and no wrestling.

Now the stage is set. Will Randy give up his former life of fame and settle down, building a normal life that may or may not include Cassidy and Stephanie? Or will Randy risk it all for another shot in the ring? Cue the Rocky music.



This is a career defining moment for Mickey Rourke. He transforms himself both physically and emotionally into this character to a degree seldom seen on the screen. It is hard to watch the punishment that he subjects himself to in this role. Yet there is this humanity on a gristled character and one finds much sympathy in the performance. Much like the Frankenstein monster, we develop empathy for the tormented innocent.

There are many critics who have felt that Marisa Tomei didn't deserve her Academy Award a few years back. But, year after year she has shown a true depth to her characters, giving a degree of humanity to flawed individuals. Here she is perfect as the damaged Cassidy, a woman doing a job she hates just to make sure her son is taken care of. She has this wall she has built up that protects her from the emotional ravages of her job, but we see how Randy's clumsy kindness breaks her down. It is a performance that shows great range and subtlety, a rare feat in modern acting.

The biggest problem I have with The Wrestler is the script. It is obvious exactly where this film is going and where it is going to end. I would have loved to see the screenwriter taken a chance and given us something more daring with the three perfect characters he has created. But, we all see where this is headed almost from the first frame. As a character study, this is perfect filmmaking but as a challenging screenplay, there is a definite lack. This is a very hard film to watch and it earns its "R" rating. It is brutal to the point of being cringe-inducing. But, Mickey Rourke gives the performance to beat on Oscar night. Just to see a master thespian giving a perfect performance, do not miss The Wrestler.

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