Last night I went to the Naro to check out the latest from one of my favorite directors, Darren Aronofsky. The main story on The Wrestler has been the profoundly great performance by Mickey Rourke as the titular character, Randy the Ram. As a washed up ’80s rasslin’ star, one of the best actors ever has found an ideal vehicle for him. Rourke ran the ’80s as an actor, finding ways to be fascinating that even Brando couldn’t muster, but he threw it all away with difficult behavior, mindless paycheck roles he had open contempt for, and a misguided attempt to prove his manliness to himself as a professional boxer in the ’90s. He was such a muckup that, despite being the best actor of his generation, he was damn near unemployable at the dawn of the aughts. Doubtlessly, he found some ways to relate to this former wrestling hero. If he doesn’t win the Oscar he was nominated for here, it better go to Sean Penn, just because I want to see the Academy give some awards to a Gus Van Sant movie (that’s another one of my favorite directors). I covered this one for No Ripcord Magazine, and you can check my full review here. For the click-lazy, here is an excerpt:

While the practical craftsmanship on the acting, directing, and writing fronts is visible throughout, and the film holds interest effortlessly with its unadorned storytelling (there is literally not an irrelevant scene here in telling a fascinating story), The Wrestler is not the kind of movie that frequently slams you upside the head with its brilliance. The power here is in an accumulation of honestly earned emotions and real, believable situations. By the climax, which superficially follows the “big fight” sports movie cliche but completely sells it as real, one can’t help but feel heartbroken for Rourke. Regular Aronofsky composer Clint Mansell contributes another excellent score that is so unobtrusive here to be almost impercievable (not so much as Carter Burwell’s mysterious contributions to No Country For Old Men, but along the same lines). All of these components combine to pack a wallop by the time the credits roll. I was left moved, shaken, and deeply sympathetic to The Wrestler.