The Wrestler DVD

Mickey Rourke is amazing in this film. Those who have watched Milk and think that Sean Penn deserved the Oscar need to go back and watch the performance of Mickey Rourke again. Will he ever perform as well as he does in this film? It's possible, but I seriously doubt it. To me watching Rourke's performance as Randy 'The Ram' Robinson, is reminiscent of Peter Sellars' performance of Chancey in Being There. You can almost feel that, like the character he's playing, Rourke knows that this maybe the only time he will get to perform a character this good.
 
The Wrestler follows the story of Randy 'The Ram' Robinson, an aging wrestler, who once sold out Madison Square Garden, but now twenty years later can barely sell out a high school gym. We see him wrestling in front of a few dozen people, not being able to pay his rent because of the poor payouts and having to supplement his income with a job at the local department store. He tries to start up a relationship with Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), an aging stripper, who (much like Randy) is suffering due to her age. Though Tomei still looks gorgeous, seeing her surrounded by these much younger, surgically enhanced strippers and you can almost understand the heartache that she's going through. If I'm honest, at any point Director Aronofksy could have easily made this a film about what happens when a stripper becomes too old to do it.
 
Though Cassidy rejects Randy's advances, following the rule of 'not dating customers' she helps encourage him to seek out his daughter (Rachel Evan Wood) after a brutal wrestling match forces Randy to undergo bypass surgery. However, despite doctors advising Randy that wrestling again will kill him he cannot resist the lure of the crowd and finally succumbs to the big rematch of his infamous Madison Square Garden match.
 
Now, I should say this is the kind of film that makes me
 
Proud to be a wrestling fan
and
Sad to be a wrestling fan.
 
There has been a lot of talk about how you really need to be a wrestling fan to appreciate this film. Nonsense! I say. That statement, which has been made by a few (let's not name and shame them) is almost like saying you have to have been a soldier to appreciate Platoon, or you have to have been a boxer to appreciate Rocky, work in a burger bar to appreciate Goodburger… Should I go on?
 
It is true that there is a great deal of moments throughout The Wrestler where a fan (a mark as they are dubbed) will pop over simple things like the backstage stuff with wrestlers discussing matches, Randy showing how the wrestlers actually bleed with use of pieces of razor blades. These are little moments that will either make you go 'eugh why/how can they do that?' or go 'oh so that's how they do that?' Yes, if you are someone who believes that wrestling is real, this film will be like a child finding out there's no Santa Claus. The Wrestler shatters the illusion that wrestling is real, but also supports the fact that wrestling is real. Confused? Well, of course the outcomes and what is going to happen is all pre-determined. Everyone knows who is going to win and what is more the film even shows the wrestlers planning out various moves or 'spots' in their matches. However, everything from bell to bell is real. Every punch, every kick, every chair to the head, and every staple to the chest (ow!): All of this is real. No talk about blood pellets or how they fake a move, every move is connecting and all that pain is real.
 
With this all said, The Wrestler is a remarkable piece of work and certainly one of the most effective and affecting pieces of cinema for a long time. It is a shame that Rourke did not win the Oscar that he deserved, but maybe next time as I'm hoping this opens the doors for him now.
 
The DVD is not brimming with extras, which is a shame, I expected Director Aronofksy to have contributed a commentary and am very surprised that this was not to be. That being said the documentary is thorough, with no stone unturned, my only issue with this is that there is no flow in terms of what is covered. Instead of looking at the creation from script to production to screen, it seems to just weave in and out between choice of actors, music, creation, use of wrestlers. The short interview with Mickey Rourke is fascinating, but too short and feels more like the kind of interview Rourke would have given to a hundred press interviews rather than a specific DVD extra.
 
The Wrestler is possibly one of the best films I've seen in a long time. It is a story of hope of dreams and ambitions and the sacrifices some people make in order to get them. The film ends on a bleak note, but is almost a kick to anyone who has ever wanted to do something and been told they are too old, too young, too tall, and too short or have the wrong colour hair. This film should be experienced by everyone.