Much has been made of Mickey Rourke’s career reviving portrayal in The Wrestler. After seeing the film, I have to agree that the praise was warranted and I only hope that Rourke continues to make quality films for years to come. In the film, directed by Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain) and written by Robert D. Siegel (The Onion Movie) Rourke plays an aging professional wrestler named Randy “The Ram” Robinson. He was a major star in the 1980’s but now his best days are behind him. Obsessed with being in the ring, Randy now patricipates in small matches off the beaten path for just a couple of bucks per outing; after all, there’s really nothing else he knows how to do. Times are so tough, he lives in a trailer park and makes ends meet by working part-time in a supermarket.
His body, still musclebound and formidable-looking thanks to steroids and other enhancing agents, is ravaged by injuries. Randy has no real friends. His only contacts are other wrestlers–some hoping to make their way to the big time, others holding on to memories of glory just like him. However, Randy finds himself in desperate need of human connection after he has heart bypass and is advised to never wrestle again. Randy frequents a strip club, regularly patronizing a dancer named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei) who like Randy is getting a bit long in the tooth for her job. Randy would like to have a romantic relationship with Cassidy but she is reluctant to get involved with a client.
With a little push from Cassidy, Randy tries to rebuild a relationship with his estranged daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood), who has grown to distrust him because of his absence in much of her life. Though they do reconnect for a short while and engage in an emotional father/daughter talk, Randy loses her forever when he goes to watch the wrestling matches, forgetting about their dinner date that night. When he returns home that night and realizes his mistake, he goes over to see his daughter. She tells him he’s a loser and she never wants to see him again.
Though he had retired from the ring after his bypass, once his daughter rejects him, he feels as though he has nothing but wrestling left. The pinnacle of his career was a now-legendary match in 1989 between him and a character called The Ayatollah (Ernest Miller, a real-life wrestler). The 20th anniversary is coming up, and Randy’s promoter thinks a rematch could be just the thing to help him recapture some of his youth and glory. (The Ayatollah now sells used cars in Arizona.) He sees no other options.
Randy is slowly realizing that wrestling is his destiny. “The only place I get hurt is out there,” he says, meaning the world outside the ring. This seems like an ironic thing to say, given how man injures Randy suffers inside the ring. However, for him, the physical pain of wrestling is nothing compared to the psychological pain of the outside world. Aronofsky gives us an unflinching look into the world of professional wrestling, bemused by the backstage choreographing and shocked by the torture these guys — especially the up-and-comers — inflict upon themselves for the sake of entertainment. One brutal sequence shows Randy grappling with a sado-masochist called Necro Butcher (a real-life wrestler, born Dylan Summers) and suffering wounds from broken glass, barbed wire, and a staple gun. Cassidy jokingly points out that Randy “The Ram” Robinson is something of a Christ figure — “You have the same hair,” she says, calling him a “sacrificial Ram”–there’s some truth behind it; he’s willing to do anything to hear the roar of the crowd.
Strangely, Rourke himself displays a total lack of vanity in playing a character that goes to the salon to have his hair dyed blonde, visits a tanning salon and keeps his body in herculean condition. Beyond that, Rourke portrays Randy as a multi-dimensional character. Randy’s not just a big, dumb wrestler but a bit of a lost soul looking for his place in the world. You can see it in the way he walks, talks and even in his eyes.
Though Rourke is in every scene, kudos should also go to Marisa Tomei, whose character, like Randy, has come to a crossroads in her life but may be too old or far gone to do anything else for a living. Both show off their bodies for money and the cheers from a crowd of strangers, and yet they never really form a truly personal connection with any of their admirers. Randy because he’d never in town long enough and the rules of the job doesn’t allow Cassidy to get to close. Evan Rachel Wood also does a solid job in her limited screen time as Stephanie, effectively conveying the hurt of having an absent father.
Darren Aronofsky and Robert Siegel have created a stark, brutal portrait of the wresting world. In a deeper context, The Wrestler is the gripping story of a man who found nothing as pleasurable as the roar of the crowd, no matter the cost.
The Wrestler has come to Blu-ray in widescreen format 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Delivered in 1080p, The Wrestler looks stunning in high definition. A grimy, dirty film, that feel is carried through to the transfer. Colors are natural and blacks are perfect. Shadows and depth are clearly defined. While there is a minimal sheen of grain throughout the film, it only adds to the grimy feel of the overall project. Details are particularly sharp, as you can clearly see the bloody nastiness of the wrestling matches and the aged, pitted putty of Rourke’s bruised and battered face.
The Wrestler comes to the Blu-ray ring with English 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio and English and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. Bass is frequent and impacting. Surrounds are put to good use – organically designed to match the feel of a real grunge wrestling match. Center-channel dialogue is a bit cloudy at times, but intentionally so. This is a solid surround presentation, particularly given the low-budget nature of this production. English, French and Spanish subtitles are also included.
The Wrestler comes with a limited but solid set of special features:
• Featurette: “Within the Ring” (43 Minutes) – This insightful “making of” documentary takes viewers behind-the-scenes with cast and crew interviews, home movies and outtakes. You’ll get a real feel for what it’s like trying to complete a low-budget drama. A real must see.
• Wrestler Round Table – At nearly an hour long, this piece gathers together famous older wrestlers like “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, Lex Luthor and others for a discussion of The Wrestler and its depiction of the sport. Not surprisingly, the wrestlers at this panel all agree that Rourke and Aronofsky captured something special.
• Music Video – Bruce Springsteen’s “The Wrestler.” Why in the world wasn’t this song nominated for an Oscar?
• Digital Copy of the Film
