Mickey Rourke triumphantly returns to the screen in the best role he's played since... Marv in Sin City (2005)? Well, that wasn't so long ago. Yet it seems that every time Rourke continues to impress us with a tour-de-force performance, as he does in Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler, he is hailed as the "Comeback Kid," when in fact, he's never gone anywhere.
One look at his filmography confirms this, as he has had at least one film, if not more, released every year since his debut in 1979, except for the years 1993 and 2007. True, they frequently aren't movies you would see in the year-end top ten lists. But like Marlon Brando, the quirky and mumbling Rourke is a performer that never fails to fascinate in any number of variations on the tough guy persona he usually imbues with the soul of a child.
In The Wrestler, he plays fading superstar Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a veteran of the sport that though filled with showboat antics, may actually be more punishing than similar gladiatorial displays out there. Robinson moves through his humble life, struggling to collect his cut of the gate; having trouble making ends meet; and deluding himself into thinking he is actually connecting with a stripper, Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), which he frequents. Oblivious to the destructive toll the matches take on his aging body, it is only after a particularly brutal rematch with the Ayatollah (Ernest Miller) that he gets a warning sign. Suffering a major heart attack, he is forced to retire, and it is then that we see what few prospects Robinson has. He lives alone in a trailer park. He has no family save for his now grown daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood), who won't talk to him. Is it only a matter of time before he has to risk returning to the ring?
Aronofsky's skill as a storyteller continues to grow. Gone is the film-school vibe of his first film, π (1998). The visual gimmickry of his overrated Requiem for a Dream (2000) is harnessed to better use here, as in one scene where he crosscuts between Robinson as he prepares for a match, and Cassidy psyching herself up for her next dance. Both self-destructively chase down the money no matter what the physical or psychological cost to each. The Wrestler expands on the promise the director displayed in the misunderstood The Fountain (2006). Like in that film, Robinson risks all to sustain the connection to someone he loves, despite the inevitability of his self-destruction in doing so. But here the emotional core is not lost in the sci-fi pyrotechnics of the earlier film.
The Wrestler is a variation on the film noir subgenre, the fight movie, which only serves to underscore the parallels between Robinson and Rourke. A rising star in the eighties, Rourke's bad decisions, like interrupting his career to venture into the world of boxing, interrupted his ascent. Noxious behavior in his personal life, which included arrests for spousal abuse, and a DUI further illustrate his penchant for masochism. His newfound vigor in returning to acting is evident in his portrayal of Robinson's climactic attempt to recapture the glory he once garnered in the ring.
Rourke's iconic performance is both powerful and touching. Like Brando, who was always ill at ease with his handsome looks, Rourke has shown signs of the same. The onetime pretty boy now has a face scarred by reconstructive surgeries after the beatings inflicted in boxing. And Robinson's bloodied visage evokes previous roles in which Rourke has taken safe harbor, away from his looks, like Marv in Sin City, or John Sedley in Johnny Handsome (1989). These ugly bruisers both hid a secret child-like soul, the same way Robinson does. In one scene, Robinson's loneliness prompts him to step outside his trailer home, and invite a neighbor kid to play a wrestling game on an outdated Nintendo. When the child loses and politely decides to leave, Robinson is embarrassed that not even a rematch can entice the boy to stay.
The Wrestler should go down as one of this actor's landmark roles, but don't call it a comeback. He's always been around, even if we haven't always been looking.
Darren Aronofsky will discuss The Wrestler at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, October 11th, at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, located on the tenth floor of the Samuel B. and David Rose Building, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, New York, 10023; $16
The Wrestler is the Closing Night film at the 46th New York Film Festival, and is playing at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, October 12th, at the Avery Fisher Hall, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, New York, 10023; $40
This entry first appeared on Blogcritics on 10/9/2008.
Photo Credit: Fox Searchlight / Wild Bunch / Film Society of Lincoln Center
Showing posts with label Johnny Handsome. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Johnny Handsome. Show all posts
Friday, October 10, 2008
Movie Review: The Wrestler - An Ode to Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke triumphantly returns to the screen in the best role he's played since... Marv in Sin City (2005)? Well, that wasn't so long ago. Yet it seems that every time Rourke continues to impress us with a tour-de-force performance, as he does in Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler, he is hailed as the "Comeback Kid," when in fact, he's never gone anywhere.
One look at his filmography confirms this, as he has had at least one film, if not more, released every year since his debut in 1979, except for the years 1993 and 2007. True, they frequently aren't movies you would see in the year-end top ten lists. But like Marlon Brando, the quirky and mumbling Rourke is a performer that never fails to fascinate in any number of variations on the tough guy persona he usually imbues with the soul of a child.
In The Wrestler, he plays fading superstar Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a veteran of the sport that though filled with showboat antics, may actually be more punishing than similar gladiatorial displays out there. Robinson moves through his humble life, struggling to collect his cut of the gate; having trouble making ends meet; and deluding himself into thinking he is actually connecting with a stripper, Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), which he frequents. Oblivious to the destructive toll the matches take on his aging body, it is only after a particularly brutal rematch with the Ayatollah (Ernest Miller) that he gets a warning sign. Suffering a major heart attack, he is forced to retire, and it is then that we see what few prospects Robinson has. He lives alone in a trailer park. He has no family save for his now grown daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood), who won't talk to him. Is it only a matter of time before he has to risk returning to the ring?
Aronofsky's skill as a storyteller continues to grow. Gone is the film-school vibe of his first film, π (1998). The visual gimmickry of his overrated Requiem for a Dream (2000) is harnessed to better use here, as in one scene where he crosscuts between Robinson as he prepares for a match, and Cassidy psyching herself up for her next dance. Both self-destructively chase down the money no matter what the physical or psychological cost to each. The Wrestler expands on the promise the director displayed in the misunderstood The Fountain (2006). Like in that film, Robinson risks all to sustain the connection to someone he loves, despite the inevitability of his self-destruction in doing so. But here the emotional core is not lost in the sci-fi pyrotechnics of the earlier film.
The Wrestler is a variation on the film noir subgenre, the fight movie, which only serves to underscore the parallels between Robinson and Rourke. A rising star in the eighties, Rourke's bad decisions, like interrupting his career to venture into the world of boxing, interrupted his ascent. Noxious behavior in his personal life, which included arrests for spousal abuse, and a DUI further illustrate his penchant for masochism. His newfound vigor in returning to acting is evident in his portrayal of Robinson's climactic attempt to recapture the glory he once garnered in the ring.
Rourke's iconic performance is both powerful and touching. Like Brando, who was always ill at ease with his handsome looks, Rourke has shown signs of the same. The onetime pretty boy now has a face scarred by reconstructive surgeries after the beatings inflicted in boxing. And Robinson's bloodied visage evokes previous roles in which Rourke has taken safe harbor, away from his looks, like Marv in Sin City, or John Sedley in Johnny Handsome (1989). These ugly bruisers both hid a secret child-like soul, the same way Robinson does. In one scene, Robinson's loneliness prompts him to step outside his trailer home, and invite a neighbor kid to play a wrestling game on an outdated Nintendo. When the child loses and politely decides to leave, Robinson is embarrassed that not even a rematch can entice the boy to stay.
The Wrestler should go down as one of this actor's landmark roles, but don't call it a comeback. He's always been around, even if we haven't always been looking.
Darren Aronofsky will discuss The Wrestler at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, October 11th, at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, located on the tenth floor of the Samuel B. and David Rose Building, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, New York, 10023; $16
The Wrestler is the Closing Night film at the 46th New York Film Festival, and is playing at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, October 12th, at the Avery Fisher Hall, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, New York, 10023; $40
This entry first appeared on Blogcritics on 10/9/2008.
Photo Credit: Fox Searchlight / Wild Bunch / Film Society of Lincoln Center
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
NYFF Day 6 - Notes on The Wrestler and Waltz with Bashir
Yeah, that's Mickey Rourke up top, looking every inch the battered and beaten has-been many had written him off as. Except his fantastic performance in Darren Aronofsky' s The Wrestler, which I caught today should change all that. There is a survivor's spirit within Rourke that Aronofsky taps into which is perfectly in line with other such performances he's given in his career, whether before the abuse he received during his sojourn into boxing - as in Johnny Handsome (1989) - or after - as in Sin City (2005). Don't have time to get much deeper than this, but consider it a preview to my full post on the film, and perhaps a separate post regarding some really interesting comments he made after the screening. I'll have those up next week, when The Wrestler closes the festival.
Playing tonight and tomorrow is Ari Folman's Waltz with Bashir, an imaginative and unique take on the documentary. It has real-life interviews dramatically presented in an animated format that recreates the subjective experience of the 1982 war in Lebanon as seen by Folman, and other fellow soldiers. I didn't have the time for a complete review today. One is definitely forthcoming. This film is very important in many ways and should definitely be experienced on the big screen.
Below is a schedule of the events for today and tomorrow. More information can be found at the festival's web site.
EVENT TITLES
NYFF – Festival main slate film
OSH – NYFF Sidebar: In the Realm of Oshima
SCREENING LOCATIONS
ZT – Ziegfeld Theatre, 54th St. between 6th and 7th Avenues
WRT – Walter Reade Theater, 65th St. between Amsterdam and Broadway, upper level
Wednesday, Oct. 1
6:00 A Summer Hours, with Ralph (NYFF/ZT)
6:30 FREE PANEL: The Place of Oshima (OSH/WRT)
9:00 Shiro of Amakusa, The Christian Rebel (OSH/WRT)
9:15 Waltz with Bashir, with I Don’t Feel Like Dancing (NYFF/ZT)
Thursday, Oct. 2
4:30 Shiro of Amakusa, The Christian Rebel (OSH/WRT)
6:00 Waltz with Bashir, with I Don’t Feel Like Dancing (NYFF/ZT)
6:30 Pleasures of the Flesh (OSH/WRT)
8:40 Band of Ninja (OSH/WRT)
9:00 Summer Hours, with Ralph (NYFF/ZT)
Waltz with Bashir is playing at the 46th New York Film Festival, at 9:15 p.m. tonight, and 6:00 p.m. tomorrow, at the Ziegfeld Theatre, 141 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019, (212) 307-1862
The Wrestler Photo Credit: Fox Searchlight / Wild Bunch / Film Society of Lincoln Center
Waltz with Bashir Photo Credit: Ari Folman and David Polonsky, © 2008, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics / Film Society of Lincoln Center
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