"Listen,” Darren Aronofsky told Mickey Rourke. “If I get the money to make The Wrestler, you're going to listen to everything I say and you are not going to disrespect me. Also, I can't pay you." The preceding exchange - between director Aronofsky and actor Rourke - about making a film together is now practically infamous.
Rourke's Bad Boy History Made Him a Risky Lead
No one wanted to finance a film with Rourke in the lead, and in the end only one company was willing to take a chance. The result has been a critical and modest financial success, with the film and its star raking in 29 awards over the last five months, and grossing $19 million worldwide. Not bad for a film that only cost $7 million to make.
With The Wrestler, Mickey Rourke was brought back from the dead. Not just brought back for a character role such as Sin City’s Marv, but back to immersing himself in roles of his choosing, letting his characters get under his skin. There would be no better role for Rourke than The Wrestler.
Dedication to the Part Results in Riches
Rourke’s dedication to the role of Randy “The Ram” Robinson paid off. He gained 35 pounds of muscle for the role and committed to working out twice a day for six months. On top of that, he did three months of wrestling training with professional wrestling star Afa Anoa'i, half of 80’s wrestling team The Wild Samoans.
The result of Aronofsky’s vision combined with Rourke’s hard work is a ragged and poignant look at the life of a man who has dedicated his life to something at the cost of everything else, and then is told he has to give it up. Aronofsky could’ve chosen any topic, but he chose professional wrestling.
Storyline Focuses on Randy's Self-Revelations
In The Wrestler, Randy suffers a heart attack after finishing an especially brutal wrestling match. Told by his doctor that he can no longer wrestle if he wishes to live, Randy becomes acutely aware how alone he really is. He tries to reconnect with Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood), the daughter he’s neglected, and Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), a stripper from a club he frequents.
Randy’s attempt to bond with Stephanie is hesitantly successful - until he forgets to meet her and goes out drinking instead. He starts to feel that he's making progress with Cassidy when they share a kiss and she agrees to meet him during the day. But then she dashes Randy's hopes, telling him nothing can happen between them because he’s a customer.
Not Quite a Happy Ending
Cassidy eventually comes around, but it’s too late, Randy has already decided to do one last wrestling match. Even though he knows it will kill him, Randy has resigned himself to the fact that his fans are the only ones who love him, and he owes it to them to wrestle, despite the consequences.
Rourke may not have won the biggest prize, the Oscar, for his performance, but he has won the newfound respect of the film industry, and more importantly, filmgoers.
The Wrestler
- Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
- Starring: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood
- Written by: Robert D. Siegel
- Run TIme: 111 minutes
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