Thursday, 2 February 2012
The Wrestler (2008)
I feel like I have to do this, one thing you must know about me is that wrestling is my love, it truly is, ever since I was a child, from the days of stone cold Steve Austin and the heart break kid Shawn Michaels, to the modern day legends such as Cm Punk, John Cena and Sheamus. But this story isn't about the global superstars of WWE and WCW, this is the story of Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke), a down and out professional wrestler, once redeemed as a great, yet a faded career led to him constantly popping in and out of independent wrestling productions and odd matches. Mickey Rourkes performance in this film is epic, could easily be mistaken for an old wrestler himself, the way he conducts himself in the ring is amazing, he sells moves better than some of the jobbers in the WWE. As the film progresses, it is evident that he has lost everything, his daughters love, every valuable and friends, his only friend is Cassidy ( Marisa Tomei) a stripper in the local men's club who all in all, is only friends with him the sense that he is nothing more than a client. Randy is happy with the way his life is, until a heart attack forces him to retire and makes him re-asses his values in life, he attempts to salvage a relationship with his daughter and attempt to begin a relationship with Cassidy. Previous to the heart attack, Randy is asked to face a rematch with fellow wrestler, "The Ayatollah" (Ernest Miller), who Randy previously wrestler twenty years ago. Due to the heart attack, he has to cancel the match, yet after failing to connect with his daughter, and being reminded that his is "only a customer" to Cassidy, so he decides to risk his life and put the fight back on. **Spoiler Alert ** as Randy is waiting in the wings for the match, Cassidy runs backstage to try and plead with him to stop the fight, he doesn't listen and goes to the ring anyway, he then talks to the crowd saying that they are his only family he's ever had, this seems to be try in the life of a professional wrestler as they amount of time they spend on the road, they hardly see their family and friends, their only friends are the fans who cheer and boo them. as the match begins, it is evident that the heart attack is taking its toll on Randy, he constantly stops and clutches his chest, as the match is about to end, he goes to the top rope to land his finisher, the ram jam, he looks up to the curtain to see if Cassidy is there, and then he jumps. End of film. I must say, I love the ending, it leaves you in the question, does he live or die, yet if he does or doesn't it doesn't really matter as in truth, wrestling is his life and if he cant wrestle he might as well be dead, so i love the cliffhanger at the end, you can give your own opinion on if he lives or dies, yet i don't feel like it ended because of that. Special features I like about this film is the one the Cameo appearance of WWE superstar R-Truth (Ron Killings) and the fact that WXW, CZW and ROH are all real wrestling productions which is pretty cool and realistic. I don't particularly like the amount of scenes in the strip club, yeah it identifies hugely the life of a messed up wrestler, yet I almost felt uncomfortable watching this as it evades the narrative of a professional wrestler, finding a relationship.
In conclusion, great great film, I feel that this film reflects a wrestler in particular named Jake "the snake" Roberts as he has had similar problems with families and has found himself in the independent circle, yet you don't have to be a wrestling fan boy, or even know what it is to understand and enjoy this film, its truly a film on how if you believe in something for your whole life, why would you ever give it up, under any circumstances. 8/10
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