It's very good, although I tainted my perception beforehand by listening to a NPR interview with the director, who said he didn't believe Mickey Rourke gave 100 percent. I found myself too focused on this idea, and it didn't help that the ending is sorta hokey.
What was surprising about this movie was how depressing it was. Pro wrestling is a world I know little about -- I wasn't one of those teens who salivated over Wrestlemania of the 80s and its dumbed-up theater for the masses. The Wrestler does show a reality many fans don't see: the washed-up, shot up, broken-wheeled "pieces of meat" its characters can become. Kind of gives you a new respect for guys like Dwayne Johnson, Mick Foley, and to some extent, Hulk Hogan, for at least trying to break out of the box.
I don't think it deserves all the superlatives being heaped on it. But I'll say it again: It's very good. The scenes where Rourke's character, Robin Ramzinsky, "relapses" into wrestling's enticements -- and its consequences -- hits hard.
No comments:
Post a Comment