I wanted to see this movie when it opened, but like usual I got caught up in my busy lifestyle. So after hunting down a theater still showing it, and two hours later....Wow!
This movie is as good as all the fancy critics are proclaiming. The pace of the movie is slow but I was not bored once. When it was over I still wanted to see more. Isn't that what a good movie is suppose to do. Leaving you wanting the answers to the questions it raises.
First off, Mickey Rourke is amazing. As the movie progressed I grew to feel more and more sorry for his character. He really gives a great performance on the inner emotional struggle of the wrestler. Nothing goes this guy's way. Not because he has bad luck. It is because he just gives up too easily. One on hand you want to see the character pull his shit together and the next you just shake your head thinking that he deserves his pain. I don't want to give away scenes or the plot because I believe everyone needs to go in fresh minded, but if you haven't seen it yet....GO!
For the first ten minutes I hated the shooting and editing, but soon I realized the point of it and then I thought it to be brilliant. That how it is with Darren Aronofsky, either you love or hate his movies. (I didn't get the point of The Fountain, and Requiem for a Dream I was only able to watch once. It gave me a headache at the end with all the music and quick edits...ouch.) In this movie alot of the shots are following Rourke's character as he walks to places. All I saw was the back of Rourke's head. It bothered me at first, but right in the middle it all snapped into meaning. You are following this man around as if you are the wrestler yourself. His whole live is like he is getting ready for the next show entrance. Then there are moments where he's thrown back into real life and he can't take the pressure so he jumps right back into the show.
I don't view this movie as a commentary of the professional wrestling industry. I see it more like a view into an hopeless addict's life. I don't mean addict as in the sense to drugs and alcohol rather more of a lifestyle choice. The characters in this movie (mainly the two main characters) only do what they do because they don't know any other way. Marisa Tomei plays a middle-aged stripper. She doesn't want to be there but knows nothing else. Her and Rourke naturally gravitate toward eachother. You get the feeling that if only they got together that they could help eachother in changing their lives. The only problem is that whenever one is ready to give in, the other has already decided to give up.
This movie was emotional and compelling. It makes you think about the things in your own life that could be different if only you tried harder in someway. It gets a L. It is definely a Legendary movie and it deserves all the awards given to it. I suggest you see it.
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