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“The Wrestler” is wise and heartbreaking in its examination
of resilient life patterns. It tells the simple but deep
story of Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke), an aging
professional wrestler who doesn’t seem to care that he’s
past his prime. Or maybe he cares so much that he clings
to a former life, one he can never get back no matter how
hard he tries. Whatever the case, all Randy knows is that
he belongs in a wrestling ring. ***
What a fascinating film, so masterful in its character
development, so beautiful in its structural and visual simplicity,
so sad in its assertion that old habits die hard. It’s a
wonderful turn for director Darren Aronofsky, who left me
hopelessly confused with his nonsensical previous film,
“The Fountain”; instead of an incomprehensible plot buried
under mounds of visual effects, he gives us a real story
with characters we can actually care about. ***
What’s most interesting about this movie is the attention
paid to smaller details, such as the surprising amount of
time a wrestler spends maintaining his image. Never mind
the weightlifting and the steroid use--trips to tanning
and hair salons are part of the regiment, as is the shaving
of body hair. Randy does all of this, yet we know he’s doing
it out of desperation than out of vanity. I’m reminded of
“Bigger, Stronger, Faster*: *The Side Effects of Being American,”
a 2008 documentary that examined steroid use among professional
athletes. As director Christopher Bell tells us, Americans
are obsessed with heroes, and as such, heroes must always
be victorious. ***
But what if victory depends on creating a façade, one
that impressionable viewers are unable to look behind? There’s
a scene in “The Wrestler” when, just before a match, Randy
hides a broken razor blade within the tape around his wrist;
when his opponent slams him to the ground, he discretely
removes the blade and cuts his forehead, making it look
like the match has been rough on him. The phoniness of that
moment is second only to the knowledge that the matches
are scripted, along with the rivalries between the wrestlers.
***
The problems stem from the fact that Randy isn’t acknowledging
the stress his aging body is under. It mostly has to do
with his heart, which threatens to give out after an especially
shocking wrestling match, one that involved barbed wire,
staples, and a lot of blood. (At what point did wrestling
become a sadistic geek show?) After waking up in a hospital
bed, he’s informed that he’s had bypass surgery. He’s also
warned that he must give up on professional wrestling if
he wants to stay alive. ***
Adjusting to this new life will not be easy, and we
know this because two very difficult relationships take
center stage. One is with his estranged daughter, Stephanie
(Evan Rachel Wood); Randy knows that he was a terrible father,
and he admits to thinking his career was more important
than being there for his family. They try to make the best
of the situation, although there’s a sense that their relationship
is broken beyond repair. ***
The other relationship is with an aging stripper named
Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), who probably has more in common
with Randy than with anyone else. She too may be past her
prime, and yet she finds comfort in the consistency of her
job. At first, she’s merely on friendly terms with Randy.
But as the film progresses, it’s obvious that she’s falling
in love. ***
There’s a sadness to this character I found very compelling;
she’s good at what she does, but she seems unwilling to
try for anything more. And even though she’s always friendly
around Randy, she always puts up a wall, as if she were
purposely maintaining a sexy image to drive him away. If
she lets him see the real her--fully clothed and with no
fancy makeup or hair--he might actually see a person there
and want to get to know her. ***
One of the more creative aspects of “The Wrestler is
the way Aronofsky follows Rourke around with a camera, making
it seem like he’s filming a documentary about a former wrestler.
It adds a personal touch that serves the story well, making
it about character instead of about visual appeal. There
are also numerous camera angels that reveal sadness without
being explicit. Example: When Randy appears at an autograph
signing, he looks around the room and sees a slew of other
over-the-hill wrestlers, some with canes, others in wheelchairs.
But Aronofsky doesn’t linger on any specific shot, opting
instead to keep things short and to the point. ***
Other moments reveal just how desperately Randy clings
to the past. Consider a scene in which he and a neighborhood
boy play a video game on the original eight-bit Nintendo
system: The boy clearly can’t identify with what he’s playing
because he describes a new game called Call of Duty, and
he makes a point of saying that it’s based on the Iraq War.
And then there are a few scenes in a supermarket, where
Randy has taken a job at the deli counter: While the first
scene shows his attempt to make the most of it, the second
one reveals his desperation to once again be in a wrestling
ring. ***
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