Rourke Makes Roaring Comeback in The Wrestler

Aronofsky's choice to cast Rourke may help revive the star's career

Jul 14, 2009

Mickey Rourke's remarkable return to acting finds him in what could be described as a semi-autobiographical turn as "The Ram" Robinson in Aronofsky's "The Wrestler."

Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler opens with a two-minute tribute to Randy “the Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke), with color commentary from his matches playing against a backdrop of promotional flyers and newspaper and magazine clippings, all highlighting “the Ram’s” iconic career among the top ranks of professional wrestling, culminating in the match that made him a legend: his victory over The Ayatollah on April 6, 1989 at Wrestlejam III in front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden.

Rourke and Ram Take a Long Road to Nowhere

Robinson sits alone in a dressing room, his back to the camera. When the promoter enters to give Robinson his pay, it’s short because, as the promoter says, “I was sure the gate would do better.” The man who once stood a legend, his name able to sell-out Madison Square Garden, now cannot sell-out a school gymnasium.

Time is a bully and a thief. It takes and takes, it devastates, until there’s nothing left.

And now, Robinson, battered and beaten, is left working the independent circuit in an attempt to recapture the glory of twenty years ago. He has little money and barely is able to afford the rent for his trailer; he has lost contact with his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood), whom he abandoned in order to become a wrestler; and he seeks comfort in lap dances from a stripper (Marisa Tomei), who is hesitant to allow their relationship to progress outside the club.

Rourke Adds to Character using Personal Experiences

The Wrestler isn’t an original story, as Barry W. Blaustein's Beyond the Mat, in particular, already tackled the realism and the physical and mental isolation/devastation of professional wrestling. But what drives the film, even beyond Aronofsky’s decision to break from his norm in choosing to use a handheld camera (Arriflex 416)–which makes for a voyeuristic endeavor into Robinson’s life, adding to the pleasant, yet, uneasy experience as spectator–is Rourke and his heartfelt, brutally honest portrayal of Robinson.

This is his story. That of an aging man, a beaten man, willing to put his life on the line in trying to recapture what once was. Oscar-nominee Rourke, whose career began with unlimited potential, chose to leave acting for professional boxing. He’s fully aware of what it’s like living on the top, having everything, then, years later, to find yourself living day-to-day, with little money, scavenging for food. And it’s translated on-screen in all its purity, in all its sincerity.

The Wrestler isn’t an easy film to watch, at times, grotesque in its approach to wrestling, but still satisfying to the very end. Rourke, Wood and Tomei all are sensational in their respective roles. And it’s great to see such an accomplishment from Rourke, who is back in full force. And it doesn’t appear he’s leaving soon.

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