The Wrestler

[aberkowitz]

Pretty sure there hasn't been a thread on this movie yet....

Went to see it this weekend- in a word, AMAZING!! Mickey Rourke was literally born to play his role, and Marisa Tomei gives an outstanding performance as well (and she is SMOKING hot ). The cinematography is outstanding for a lower budget film. In fact, I cannot imagine this movie being done well by a major studio on a big budget. The whole movie has a grungy/dirty feel to it, which especially works given that it's alternately set in small gyms hosting wrestling matches and a strip club.

Definitely a must see....

 

[MatthewB.]

You are right Mickey Roarke was born to play this role (almost like a biography on Mickeys life) But found the movie way too depressing and bleak. I can see how he would be nominated but he was nominated whil Clint Eastwood was passed over for his portrayal in Gran Torino which was a far better performance. Maraisa has a smoking bod, but the story was just too sad.

 

[aberkowitz]

You are right Mickey Roarke was born to play this role (almost like a biography on Mickeys life) But found the movie way too depressing and bleak. I can see how he would be nominated but he was nominated whil Clint Eastwood was passed over for his portrayal in Gran Torino which was a far better performance. Maraisa has a smoking bod, but the story was just too sad.

The story was sad... but that's what made it good. It parallels the lives of many greats in a physical "sport" who wore down their bodies and ended up desperate.

SPOILER:

Spoiler

In the end though, he spent his last moments (in my opinion he had another heart attack after jumping off the top rope) with the people who loved him most. The fans were his family.

 

[j_garcia]

Aronofski is my favorite director hands down. Once I recover enough to get out of the house, this is the movie I will be going to see first.

 

[aberkowitz]

Aronofski is my favorite director hands down. Once I recover enough to get out of the house, this is the movie I will be going to see first.

Nothing serious is it John? Hope you feel better soon.

Aronofsky is brilliant- Pi is one of my favorites (used to watch it weekly in college) and I've heard nothing but raves about Requiem- which I still need to see. He's got a boxing movie coming out next year with Mark Wahlberg, and I heard something about a new Robocop....

 

[j_garcia]

Requiem is better, though a bit more disturbed than Pi IMHO. If you like Pi that much, you owe it to yourself to see Requiem. I also completely enjoyed The Fountain.

 

[jostenmeat]

I liked Pi, and though sensationalist, Requiem was too much. I thought it was more about camera angle editing than substance.

The story is old, just over the top, and has been done much better before. Check out Long Day's Journey Into Night, black and white, Hepburn, and will leave you bummed even on your wedding day, lottery winning day, anyday.

Disclaimer: I wasn't a videophile back then, and today eye candy counts for a lot more than it did before.

Sorry, JMO, but I do appreciate the thread. FWIW, I thought the Fountain was pretty wierd. Maybe I should view these titles again to see if I still think the same way about them. I dunno. I hated Requiem.

 

[j_garcia]

Most people I know hated Reuiem, because it is so intense. He has so many layers to his stories and that is what I find interesting. The parallels, the human condition, the ability to convey what he is thinking are very impressive to me. The fancy editing has been copied and even made fun of on the Simpsons, but when it came out, it was unique. There are others in the vein such as Basketball Diaries and Trainspotting that I also like quite a bit. The Fountain is another that most people I know didn't "get". Each time I watch it, I get something slightly different or that I hadn't though of before, and I think that is the power of this director. He may not be the best director who ever lived, but I like what he is doing.

 

[dronezero]

I can see how he would be nominated but he was nominated whil Clint Eastwood was passed over for his portrayal in Gran Torino which was a far better performance.

No way, Rourke's performance was one of the top, if not the top, performances of the past 5 years. Eastwood in Torino, however was merely good. Eastwood is a character actor and Torino wasn't even one of his better performances. The academy got it right by not nominating him for best performance, whereas if Rourke doesn't win the award he will have been shafted. No one else even comes close this year.

 

[skizzerflake]

I saw it tonight and was completely blown away. It's rare that I have ever seen an actor so become a role. Pretty much every minute was completely believable and not one second in this movie is wasted. Somehow I don't think he will nab the Oscar mainly because the movie is too far from the mainstream, too gritty and not in line with the Academy's statements about wanting a movie that's uplifting and "moral". I understand that Mickey Rourke worked for free and Springsteen donated the song that ran through the credits.

I also give a lot of credit to Marissa Tomei who was also excellent, in spite of having to spend half of the movie topless. She managed to convey both stripper invulnerability and world weariness at the same time.

This is another masterpiece for Aronofsky. Requiem for a Dream was amazing but not for everybody and unlike a lot of people, since I like fantasy, I liked The Fountain. Don't expect The Wrestler to leave you feeling good, but by all means, do see it.

 

[j_garcia]

We saw it last night and it wasn't quite what I was hoping for from Darren. It was very linear and straight forward though peering directly into the character's flaws and how they deal or rather live with them. Though it wasn't as intense and layered as his others, it was very well done, and the acting was very good. I wouldn't call the performances Oscar worthy personally, because I wouldn't think it that difficult to appear as "normal" as any other person since the characters and their problems were more realistic than most movies. I would say it is his most accessible movie for the masses, yet still is not a mainstream movie that all will likely enjoy. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't call it a favorite movie.

 

[skizzerflake]

I noted that TW is a sort of reverse tearjerker. Generally when I see weepy movies, it's the women that come out with runny makeup and tissues and the guys who roll their eyes. When I came out of The Wrestler, it was the guys that were all dewy and the women who were saying, "why didn't he just quit wrestling?".

 

[Seth=L]

Sorry, I got to Marisa Tomei and everything else became a blur. I love her bod.

 

[j_garcia]

Really? She's just OK in my book. Presumably they wanted her to look that rough for the movie, because she did.

 

[robmlisanti]

Sorry, I got to Marisa Tomei and everything else became a blur. I love her bod.

I hear that.....but the movie was excellent...very moving and great acting, but sad. right up there with Gran Torino for best picture.

 

[Gov]

Sorry, I got to Marisa Tomei and everything else became a blur. I love her bod.

Have you seen Marisa in "before the devil knows your dead"? MERCY!!!!!

 

[skizzerflake]

Sorry, I got to Marisa Tomei and everything else became a blur. I love her bod.

I was never a big fan of hers, but she really stood out here, in more ways than one. She looked pretty good to me, but she has to be a gutsy actor to have spent so much camera time partially nude but still acting like a person rather than just a male fantasy.

 

[lanijo]

I do so agree with you. It was hards to believe this was the same guy that played the lead in "Barfly". I could not take my eyes off this amazing actor. He made that character. The simpleness of it was what made his performance awesome. It's great to know people still like movies that showcase acting abilities; some people only like car chases and junk like that. When he was talking to the hairdresser about not putting too much die on his hair! Other scenes with this reality were many, he is now, on of my favorite actors. And...Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood deserved his oscar, another totally awesome role.

 

[j_garcia]

That is what it was about his role here: it felt real and honest.

 

[CraigV]

I could NOT get into this movie. Too dark & brooding, not to mention I got really tired of the “follow behind the actor” camera angle.

In the extras, the director said he wanted to try something different, so he just let the actors do as they pleased. IMO, they needed more directing, as well as the camera man.

I do agree however that MT is smoking hot.