The Wrestler
This is not exactly the sort of film you would expect Darren Aronofsky to direct. After the fiasco of mystical fantasy The Fountain, the refined director for once directs a script he didn’t write (Robert Siegel is the author) and scores very high.
Back in the late ‘80s, Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a headlining professional wrestler. Now, twenty years later, he lives in a shack and ekes out a living performing for handfuls of die hard wrestling fans in community centres. Estranged from his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and unable to sustain a relationship, Randy lives for the thrill of the show and the adoration of his fans. When a heart attacks forces him to retire, his sense of identity slips away. Randy tries to reconnect with his daughter and to strike up a blossoming romance with stripper Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), yet all this cannot compete with the allure of the ring.
Grainy images and a handheld camera remind more of the Dardenne brothers that of Aronofsky, yet there is no better way to express the journey of Randy’s rough and scarred soul towards its destiny. It’s easy to see how Randy’s story mirrors Mickey Rourke’s and that’s why the actor, coiffed in iconic bleached curls, cannot help but give a lifetime performance that is a worthy winner of the Golden Lion.
The world of wrestling with its costumes, tricks, combines and true friendship tales is told by the director with an affectionate look that eschews sarcasm or cynicism: it’s no accident that Randy’s only friends, the ones who might give a damn about his life, are all ring people. In fact, whilst Randy is told by the wrestling establishment to win matches, his private life crumbles inevitably as the communication with the ones he loves most gets harder and harder. This is a man of action, not of words. Sentiment, he has a lot, but how to show it to others is the kind of wrestle Randy cannot compete in.
Aronofsky’s camera shakes and twists like the protagonists moods, and the wrestling scenes convery both the physical pain and the interior grief – which one is more unbearable? Clint Mansell composes a very sensitive score, impeccably completed by Jim Black’s acute choice of 1980s hard rock anthems. A highly accomplished example of classic American cinema, The Wrestler is not a particularly original story but is able to give intense emotions.
Vera Brozzoni
