Mickey Rourke Leaps to DVD in The Wrestler by Reg Seeton
If you haven't seen the Darren Aronofsky directed The Wrestler, just do it. You don't see many movies today that are as raw, real, simple, sweet, painful and moving as The Wrestler. Having previously directed the emotionally complex Requiem for a Dream and the surrealistically cerebral The Fountain, Darren Aronofsky brought his next film back to the ground on the blue-collar streets of New Jersey. If you don't know by now, The Wrestler tells the story of Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a once popular professional wrestler whose glory days are behind him and now lives life, destitute, trying to get by day-to-day in the brutal local wrestling circuit while sacrificing his body, his soul, and his daughter for the only thing he knows how to do in life - be a wrestler.
As soon as The Wrestler hit the elite film festival circuit, the buzz about Mickey Rourke's performance as Randy "The Ram" continued to pick up steam by the week, like late wrestler Rufus "Freight Train" Jones, until Mickey won the Best Actor Golden Globe, earned an Oscar nomination, and later got robbed at the Academy Awards ceremony (no offense to Sean Penn). Although there were several great acting performances over the past year, Mickey Rourke deserved an Oscar. It was his time. But since Rourke didn't take home a golden statue for The Wrestler, it's mind-blowing to think of the type of performance Mickey would need to give to actually win an Oscar. Well, for those who have been following his career since he first broke into the business, not really. In fact, he's given many over the years before finding himself at odds with the business of Hollywood and, to even larger degree, himself.
After finding success in Hollywood, Rourke became disillusioned with how the business works, earned a certain rebellious reputation, quit acting to become a professional boxer, and later matured as a man to learn lessons of life that he wasn't aware of in his early acting days. What happened was that Mickey Rourke was tarred and feathered by the business; Rourke tarred and feathered himself, which resulted in fans tarring and feathering one of the best acting talents of our time. Then all of a sudden like nothing ever happened, everyone's Mickey Rourke's best friend. Sad, tragic, and triumphant for sure, but that's just how things go down in the ring of life.
As a film, The Wrestler lacks the luster and glistening twinkle of typical Oscar selections, but it's the scaled back simplicity that puts the focus squarely on Randy "The Ram" and Mickey Rourke. After all, given real life career parallels to the character, The Wrestler also has a powerful sincerity and genuineness that enhances the drama and conflict of the story. It's as if you're watching the pain that Mickey Rourke felt in his years as a pseudo Hollywood outcast. Or is it? That's how good Mickey Rourke is. But if you've followed Rourke's career, the success of The Wrestler only woke people up to recognize Mickey as one of the best actors of our generation while giving him the acting respect that he deserves. Although The Wrestler isn't perfect and has its flaws, especially given how Aronfosky chose to shoot the film in such a raw manner, with indie style cuts and edits that aren't seamless or Oscar polished, it's a story that emotionally moves you with its authentic power and believability while giving you an inside look at the brutality of local wrestling and the sad fate that befalls some of our once-favorite ring heroes.
As for the April 21 DVD release we received from Fox, The Wrestler makes good on the main event but leaves the ring much too early in the extras department. If you're looking for the film, you'll be happy. If you're looking for extensive extras from a variety of angles, you'll largely be let down. The disc features a great behind-the-scenes segment called "Within the Ring: A No-Holds-Barred One-on-One with Wrestlers and Filmmakers," which follows Darren Aronofsky and the crew as they prepared to shoot a variety of sequences inside and outside the ring with wrestlers while revealing how The Wrestler got off the ground, how it all came into production, the toll the industry takes on wrestlers, working with the actors - namely Mickey Rourke and real wrestlers - and how they shot the film's final ring sequence. Noticeably absent, however, is any sign or reflective thoughts or commentary from Randy "The Ram", Mickey Rourke.
Given a lack of a few more behind-the-scenes segments, deleted scenes, commentaries and the usual DVD extras, the disc feels like it fell victim to the film's success over the fact that everyone was so busy with festivals, press, and awards. On the musical side of the film, Bruce Springsteen had already shot the video for The Wrestler, which is also included..
Having now stepped into the ring for a second time with Mickey Rourke and Randy “The Ram” Robinson,” I’m sure a complete DVD of The Wrestler is already in the works for future release.
Although people are now giving Mickey Rourke the respect he deserves after The Wrestler, it's only one of many fantastic performances. Rourke's performance in the 1987 film "A Prayer for the Dying" as unreligious IRA bomber, Martin Fallon, who mistakenly blows up a school bus of children and seeks sanctuary in a Catholic church to go clean, is easily one of the most memorable performances I've ever seen long before The Wrestler. It's also one of the most overlooked performances in the last 30 years. What happens to his character and how Rourke plays Fallon during the film's climax mirrors the raw emotional power of The Wrestler, which was filmed at the beginning of his career. Now that The Wrestler is out on DVD, use that as a primer to discover "A Prayer for the Dying."
Mickey was great in Angel Heart also a real sleeper
Linda
April 23, 2009 - 06:52
Subject: Overlooked Performance
I agree Mickey Rourke's performances have been overlooked. I have not seen "A Prayer for the Dying" but after seeing the Wrestler I will certainly watch "A Prayer for the Dying". He is a powerful actor!
If you haven't seen the Darren Aronofsky directed The Wrestler, just do it. You don't see many movies today that are as raw, real, simple, sweet, painful and moving as The Wrestler. Having previously directed the emotionally complex Requiem for a Dream and the surrealistically cerebral The Fountain, Darren Aronofsky brought his next film back to the ground on the blue-collar streets of New Jersey. If you don't know by now, The Wrestler tells the story of Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a once popular professional wrestler whose glory days are behind him and now lives life, destitute, trying to get by day-to-day in the brutal local wrestling circuit while sacrificing his body, his soul, and his daughter for the only thing he knows how to do in life - be a wrestler.
After finding success in Hollywood, Rourke became disillusioned with how the business works, earned a certain rebellious reputation, quit acting to become a professional boxer, and later matured as a man to learn lessons of life that he wasn't aware of in his early acting days. What happened was that Mickey Rourke was tarred and feathered by the business; Rourke tarred and feathered himself, which resulted in fans tarring and feathering one of the best acting talents of our time. Then all of a sudden like nothing ever happened, everyone's Mickey Rourke's best friend. Sad, tragic, and triumphant for sure, but that's just how things go down in the ring of life.
As for the April 21 DVD release we received from Fox, The Wrestler makes good on the main event but leaves the ring much too early in the extras department. If you're looking for the film, you'll be happy. If you're looking for extensive extras from a variety of angles, you'll largely be let down. The disc features a great behind-the-scenes segment called "Within the Ring: A No-Holds-Barred One-on-One with Wrestlers and Filmmakers," which follows Darren Aronofsky and the crew as they prepared to shoot a variety of sequences inside and outside the ring with wrestlers while revealing how The Wrestler got off the ground, how it all came into production, the toll the industry takes on wrestlers, working with the actors - namely Mickey Rourke and real wrestlers - and how they shot the film's final ring sequence. Noticeably absent, however, is any sign or reflective thoughts or commentary from Randy "The Ram", Mickey Rourke.
Having now stepped into the ring for a second time with Mickey Rourke and Randy “The Ram” Robinson,” I’m sure a complete DVD of The Wrestler is already in the works for future release.