Whatever mistakes and indignities and turmoil led Mickey Rourke to where he is now, whatever demons have plagued him -- they all lead to the 1 hour and 55 minutes of magnificence that is his performance in' The Wrestler.'
The Wrestler (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:205
Fresh:200
Rotten:5
Average Rating:8.3/10
Consensus: Mickey Rourke gives a performance for the ages in The Wrestler, a richly affecting, heart-wrenching yet ultimately rewarding drama.
Theatrical Release:Dec 17, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $26,136,413
Synopsis: At first glance, Darren Aronofsky's THE WRESTLER may seem like a departure for the oftentimes frenetic filmmaker, and in some ways it is. When this story of a past-his-prime performer is compared... At first glance, Darren Aronofsky's THE WRESTLER may seem like a departure for the oftentimes frenetic filmmaker, and in some ways it is. When this story of a past-his-prime performer is compared to PI, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, and THE FOUNTAIN, there is relatively little trace of psychoscientific addiction imagery, hip-hop editing, or grimly elegant peeks into dreams, nightmares, and otherworlds. Comic moments are plentiful. Aronofsky's signature close-ups of faces have been replaced with ones that force themselves into wounds inflicted for visceral spectacle. Much of the time the camera floats and bobs with an observant, almost documentary-like quietness, ethereally following the wrestler as if it were his past, and the viewer may perceive vague connections to a later, lonelier, less legitimate Rocky Balboa. But Mickey Rourke isn't the Italian Stallion--he's Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a man who has spent decades slicing himself open in choreographed fights while adoring crowds roar. Pro wrestling isn't as lucrative as it was for Randy in the 1980s, but he stays at it while working menial jobs because performing isn't just the only thing he craves--it's the only thing that, at 50, he knows how to crave. While courting his one true friend, a stripper named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), Randy does his best to restart a relationship with the angry daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) he abandoned. But Rourke imbues the image of Randy, ready to pounce from the ropes, looking almost as unreal as the box art on action figure packaging, with an expression of pain, desperation, and joy. It's a close-up that makes two things clear. For one, Randy's charisma is inseparable from the crippling fixation that's kept him alive. For another, THE WRESTLER might be at once a simpler and more complex meditation on addiction and eternal struggle than any of Aronofsky's earlier work. [More]
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Ernest "The Cat" Miller
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Ernest "The Cat" Miller, Gregg Bello
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Screenwriter: Darren Aronofsky, Robert Siegel
Producer: Scott Franklin
Composer: Clint Mansell
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures
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Release:
Apr 21, 2009
Reviews for The Wrestler
Despite the low-tech feel, The Wrestler is very tight and disciplined. The score is spare but effective, nothing is wasted in dialogue or action, and the fight choreography and stunts are incredible. Rourke is phenomenal.
It's a testament to Mr. Rourke's talent that Randy's life and attempted redemption never devolve into maudlin, unearned sentimentality.
Any film that can make you feel the utter loneliness of a character like Mickey Rourke's is one that you can totally endorse. Yes, he's as good as they say.
I don't know if I've ever seen an actor more honest and vulnerable on screen.
Rourke wears his scars (both physical and emotional) with such naked humanity that his performance becomes a kind of on-screen outpouring of his own grief and waylaid potential
Topping off an outstanding production, director Darren Aronofsky's ending to The Wrestler is sheer perfection.
Rourke's performance is gritty and real for sure and the tender moments ring true. But let's not go overboard. It's practically a reality show.
Great art is sometimes difficult viewing, and such is Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler, a film that will be remembered as Mickey Rourke's greatest screen triumph.
Mickey Rourke's mesmerizing, road-wreck performance as [a] washed-up wrestler ... is the only reason to sit through The Wrestler's cliches
The best thing about director Darren Aronofsky's realization of Robert Siegel's original screenplay is Mickey Rourke's portrayal of Randy "the Ram" Robinson.
El luchador es una de esas películas que reivindican toda una carrera llena de altibajos, o que justifican la mera perseverancia de un actor, por más bueno o malo que hayamos creído que era.
... é nestas similaridades entre realidade e ficção, intérprete e personagem, que O Lutador ganha uma dimensão adicional que o torna ainda mais forte e impactante.
A conventional sports movie with an Oscar-worthy performance by Mickey Rourke.
gripping, realistic ... Mickey Rourke brings everything he has to it, and it's perfect for him ... if the violence hurts you, that means Aronofsky's doing his job.
What do you get when a fantastic director encourages a sort-has-been to play a has-been?
Latest News for The Wrestler
February 21, 2009:
Independent Spirit Award Winners Announced
The best independent films of 2008 were recognized with the announcement of the Independent Spirit Award nominees. The awards show was broadcast live on IFC on Saturday,... More...
January 26, 2009:
Mickey Rourke: From Wrestler to Wrestlemania ![]()
Playing Randy "The Ram" Robinson in "The Wrestler" hasn't just earned Mickey Rourke a career reboot and heaps of critical acclaim -- it's apparently also afforded him a slot on... More...
January 25, 2009:
Mickey Rourke resuscitates career as comeback kid in search of redemption. ![]()
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January 21, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with James Franco
Having established his name in the Spider-Man movies, these days James Franco is clearly making some more personal career choices. He was in three films in 2008, notable for... More...
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