Page 1 of The Wrestler

Watched this last night and thought the performances from Rourke and Tomei were superb, whilst the movie was a real slog in places verging on documentry style following the has been wrestler desperately trying to stay in the business he loves even though years of abusing his body has caught up with him many moons ago.

The movie is set 20 years after his peak and sees in a job he hates, with a boss who constantly puts him and wrestling down, wrestling part time in small town venues with other has beens and young up and comers who continue to give him the respect he craves. The story really is whether his possible romance with aging stripper Tomei, his again possible reconcilliation with his daughter or his weak heart are strong enough to pull him away from the wrestling ring.

I loved it and didn`t really find it a slog at all. Rourke`s performance should win the Oscar IMO and Tomei should get something for her supporting role as well. Quite a different film for Aronofsky, although I suppose he had to change direction after The Fountain (which I also loved). I cried in the scene where...

SPOILER:
he goes out with his daughter for the day, to the dilapidated building.

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This item was edited on Saturday, 3rd January 2009, 17:51

Did say a slog in places :), I enjoyed the movie and think the similarities with Rourke and the Rams careers and problems were intriguing to say the least, and Tomei was miles better in this than My Cousin Vinnie which she won her Oscar for, dont mean she will win here tho as its not exactly a feel good movie although I think its gonna have to be a superb performance by anyone to beat her or Rourke for the major acting awards

We watched this last night and thought it was great. I`m sure i would have shed a tear or 2 if the film hadn`t been interupted twice for about half an hour a piece. :(

I know what you mean about the documentry style the film was shot in, it was almost identical to a docu i watched a few years back about Jake `The Snake` Roberts. If the performances hadn`t been so great then this effect would have been lost. Mickey Rourke should win something for this, he actually was The Ram imo.

This is only my second Aronosky film after the Fountain and i fell in love with both. I tried to watch Pi a while back but switched it off after 20 minutes because i just couldn`t get into it, i think i`ll give it another go though:D.

Regards
Bryan

Aronofsky clearly loves playing with film syntax, but apart from his new approach it still has all the same themes as his other films.

I must admit I prefer the Aronofsky that builds huge montages and sequences which climax, they tend to be mini-films accompanied with overtly stylish music from Clint Mansell. I love The Fountain, Requiem is brilliant (if difficult to watch due to it`s impact) and Pi is as good a debut low-low-budget feature as a director can hope for.

The Wrestler is all about the actor though, and Rourke is brilliant. I just think for Aronofsky it`s not a huge step forward, rather an experiment in a different style for him (but by no means original).

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I`m waiting until the cinema release to catch this. All the reports I`ve heard have been that it`s good to great.

For any old wrestling fans out there, Rourke`s character is based around 1980s star Greg "The Hammer" Valentine.

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Brian Elliott is a British journalist, covering soccer, MMA, and pro wrestling. He has written for the likes of the Associated Press, the Canadian Press, and Fighting Spirit Magazine, and has also appeared as a guest on Fight Network Radio.

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I`m waiting until the cinema release to catch this. All the reports I`ve heard have been that it`s good to great.


I`m waiting aswell, as it`s only 2weeks until cinema release now.

Worst thing is, I`m impatient so quite a few of the Oscar leaks I am watching as I just don`t want to wait months for them. (Gran Torino which I watched last night isn`t out until March I believe).

I`ve got a Cineworld card so it`s not as if I`m saving money either.

www.last.fm/user/1mills

Liked this one as lot (thats two films this weekend i liked!) - Thought Rourke was excellent.
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Just want to know if he survived that last fight :/

I watched it last night. Thought it was brilliant. My favourite film so far (18days into the year). :D

I think the advertising may actually be attracting the wrong kind of crowd though.

There was a young lad who was 11 at most infront us with his parents. Had to laugh as the parents started doing double takes to each other and the child when he was doing the cuts for himself. Then especially when they went into the strip club.

Then with all the drugs. I really thought the dad was going to drag them out when

SPOILER:
Mickey gets the steds in his arse

but they persevered and then generally not too bad with the strip club scenes every now and then which would be acceptable but then

SPOILER:
the coke and sex scene in the bathroom

was too late to turn back for the dad as he looked again but defeated. :D

The kid looked kinda bored a lot of the way through the drama scenes and was fidgeting but seemed to suddenly stop whenever there was any nudity. ;)

www.last.fm/user/1mills

This item was edited on Monday, 19th January 2009, 14:13

How hot was Marisa Tomei though? She`s 44 right? Fantastic body. :)

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