*Blog post was started on July 24, 2022. The file this blog is based on was last modified on April 23, 2009.
Mentally, I am thoroughly exhausted. It was stated in the last blog, "Imagine We Had VHS: Ultraviolet: Code 044", that two-day weekends were not a foreseeable luxury. As it turns out, after my therapy-dedicated July 26, my schedule consists of nine straight days featuring three 10-hour days (two of which are back-to-back). With a podcast to record before C2E2, needless to say, my depression seems warranted for a change. There is some Ally drama, but that will be saved for my therapist.
To make matters worse creatively, wrestling's championships sure feel static. I know we have a new AEW Interim World Champion (so no better than the current Disgruntled's Real World Championship) and the most dangerous champion in women's wrestling lost her title (but I do not display much respect for Money in the Bank cash ins), but it does not change the top REAL WORLD champions. I want to alternate between anime and wrestling when it comes to topics for "MainEventOfTheDead.com", so I seem stuck.
And with seemingly no immediate call for "NinetyForChill: The #Podcast" guests (emphasis on seemingly), I have yet to catch up on a lot of movies. This lead me trying to rearrange and straighten up my apartment. There was a TV to recycle and a PlayStation 4 to sell (just in case I am on the verge of bankruptcy two: electric boogaloo), needing a third entertainment center in a one-bedroom domicile seemed excessive. Thus, the old hard drive from my Vista PC that I was using to rip Redbox DVDs (the good olde days) was moved over to this slow Lenovo. Serendipitously, my first ICC Harbinger movie review was found.
Lets see if the proofreading this copy and pasted post will inspire me to overcome this story being way too personal to me and finally give the home media release (which I have bought twice) a complete viewing. That is a tough task because I think I can manage to binge two season of "The Boys" before C2E2. Priorities.
The Wrestler: A Film that Demands Recognition
Last February, the Academy Awards chose to overlook the motion picture of 2008 that had the most heart. This film was Darren Aronofsky’s Mickey Rourke vehicle "The Wrestler".
It was a tough year to gain the Oscars that would unquestionably secure the place of a film in motion picture history. "Slumdog Millionaire" was virtually a perfect film. David Fincher finally released a film that would be adored my the mainstream thus allowing the Academy to final recognize his talents. Gus Van Sant now fills the void left by Martin Scorsese of lovable loser. Ron Howard’s offering being a toned down drama secured the fourth spot in the Best Picture chase, and The Weinstein Company gets a spot whether Hollywood likes it or not.
Aronofsky’s lack of recognition was not surprising, but it was criminal to overlook Rourke’s efforts that made "The Wrestler" more than a director’s project. Fortunately, not far removed from the date in which the Academy determined that "Girl Interrupted" was a far more important film (Angelina Jolie’s performance gave the film an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress), Fox has released "The Wrestler" on DVD to give those who missed it a chance to bask in its glory while it is still fresh in their minds.
Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Rourke) wrestling career seemed to have culminated 20 years-ago when he faced the Ayatollah at Madison Square Garden, but he still travels the northeastern sea board putting his body on the line. His life is not a comfortable one since the wrestling business has never been known for taking care of its own, and even as a draw, the grand pay day is never a guarantee. This leaves our protagonist struggling to pay his rent at the trailer park, unable to reconcile with his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) who has disowned him, working at a supermarket for a manager who loves to demean him for what he was, and his only true friend being a stripper, Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), who does her best to distance herself from him to ensure a better future for her and her son.
For the fans that still pay to see him, The Ram has been willing to pay any price to do what he loves, until he suffers a heart attack after an “ultra violent” match. Now he must determine how to get his life in order since it is more than likely he will never wrestle again.
Because the film is named after a character in it, many of the elements that make up the film are indeed overshadowed by the focus on Mickey Rourke’s performance. And rightfully so. This is the role Hollywood has wanted the actor to play since his reemergence to the scene in "Sin City". Rourke has had his own demons of living a normal life, and that is what the film is about. He had to pour his heart and soul into The Ram to make the character believable, and despite not doing all of his own stunts, those that he has to put himself through involve pain rarely, if ever, asked of an actor to endure. After this performance, it is very difficult to imagine watching a documentary about him. Randy Robinson is everything that is Mickey Rourke, so it has already been filmed.
This is why Aronofsky deserves vast amounts of praise. His fictitious film takes place in the most
realistic world caught on film since "Borat".
A side from the characters mentioned in the synopsis, everyone else is
playing themselves, and unlike the comedy mentioned, this film is able to keep
the reality from becoming part of the fiction.
To further enhance the environment, Aronofsky has overachieved on the techniques
pioneered by Lars von Trier, the director of "Europa" a.k.a. "Zentropa". He does not try to make any visually artistic
statements with the use of constant close ups, but they give the film the feel of a
documentary, and Robert D. Siegel’s screenplay allows the audience to feel like
they are an active part of the film. A
long with the billed actors’ performances, the writing and directing allow "The
Wrestler" to genuinely feel alive.
Like in The Wrestler, politics seems to determine everything. The Academy Awards only gave two nominations to "The Wrestler", and they were only for Rourke’s lead and Tomei’s supporting performance. Tomei had already won a Supporting Actress Oscar for "My Cousin Vinny", so the nomination can be considered a victory since there was controversy over her first win. Never mind the fact that Penelope Cruz was nominated for Supporting Actress for her role in a WoodyAllen film which is almost always a lock.
Mickey Rourke was considered by many to be a lock for Best Actor after his Golden Globes win, but not being popular among his peers may have cost him the SAG and the Oscar to "Sean Penn’s performance in Milk". When it comes to the science of acting, it cannot be said that either role was better acted than the other, but what it took to play Rourke’s role cannot be compared. Sean Penn could not have been The Ram while anyone could have been Harvey Milk.
Randy “The Ram” Robinson should be one of the most memorable characters of this decade in cinema, but with a lack of tangible recognition, Hollywood does not seem to care whether the efforts of the writer, director, and actor who created him are remembered. If one is a fan of fine films, it is imperative that they view "The Wrestler".
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