In spite of the fact that we all know pro wrestling is simulated and that, generally speaking, films prove to be nothing more than mere acting, we try to introduce ourselves in these fake worlds and take these elements for real happenings.
It’s true, some movies emanate incredible results of cinematic introspection, such as profound feelings and weighty moods, but in the end they all bring to light their dreamlike and illusory nature.
And it feels mind-blowing to admit that we enjoy taking part in such mind games and believe in the fight that occurs down on the ring, as well as in the comic book-like wrestlers who inflict pain on one another for a living.
Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler,” which has already won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival and a Golden Globe award for Mickey Rourke, astutely develops this congruence and manages to reveal that the boundary between veracity and acting or simulating may be less translucent than we presume.
Although the story is set in the midst of gray halls, dreary trailer parks and the dilapidated showground of New Jersey, thus suggesting the bitter taste of downfall and oblivion, some moments which surface throughout the main character’s road back to glory are disarmingly charming, a memorable allegory about wasted expectations and fresh starts.
Randy (The Ram) Robinson, impersonated with crafty, colossal refinement by Mickey Rourke, manages to outshine the thick line between fakeness and reality, despite the fact that the long-forgotten wrestler is rationally unconceivable.
The focal persona in the film holds the authentic essence of the atypical, as he portrays an outdated athlete who latches on to the deep-rooted era’s lifestyle. With faded fair locks and a scarred wise face, Randy Robinson regularly brings to light the strong, yet amusing traits of a powerless superhero.
Two decades after his glorious zenith, the wrestler takes a job at a deli, does his best in order to establish a love story with a stripper known as Cassidy, played by Marisa Tomei, and strives to put to rights his relationship with his estranged daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood).
Nevertheless, he still feels drawn to his past and to the beauty of the game and decides to confront his old wrestling opponent, although his he is facing health problems and may actually lose his life in the battle.
Darren Aronofsky creates a true cinematic work of art with “The Wrestler,” pulling out all the stops to prove that his style does not remain exclusively loyal to productions like “Requiem for a Dream” and “The Fountain.” The film studies its characters thoroughly, delivers emotion and shares beliefs, but its best advantage is probably the fact that it turns the battle ring into a real life scene.
Also, Rourke’s exquisite performance as the washed up wrestler breathing steroids through his every pore until his heart cannot take it any longer and the man needs to undergo bypass surgery makes for a perfect comeback for the 52-year-old actor.
