Saturday, March 7, 2009

The Wrestler - review

The raw camera work and natural sound suit this study of ageing perfectly. Watching Rourke as Randey The Ram, a once great wrestler now inexorably degrading, can be painful to watch and the feeling of spying on this ebb only makes it all the more uncomfortable. 

It's clear he can't carry on but it's equally apparent he knows little else. He is what he is: a tired old bear swiping at life with dull claws. It's a powerful performance; Rourke at times apparently struggling to find the strength just to breath, let alone climb in the ring. Elsewhere he displays a childlike inability to deal with, or understand, what's happening to him. It makes his relationship with Marisa Tomei's stripper, Cassady, as touching as it is flawed. Both are entering the next stage of their lives as lost as each other. The estranged daughter sub-plot, on the other hand, struggles to fit naturally into the narrative. And as a result the later half of the film flounders - the otherwise raw and moving portrayal of decline stalling as it approaches resolution. But it's a minor failing and one that only delays rather than spoils the reverberating and memorable conclusion.

4 comments:

  1. Great review. Except he's called Randy :p But you've written exactly what I felt.

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  2. I got a bit sniffy at the scene by the sea with his daughter. Really beautiful stuff. I didn't cry though. What, do you think I'm a woman or something? WHAT ARE YOU IMPLYING?

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  3. I wanted to mention that but I was trying to stick to a strict 200 word count. That scene was brilliant, despite the whole daughter strand feeling a bit lost in the film overall.

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