Oscar Watch: The Wrestler

The Wrestler came highly recommended by my intern Peter. Of course he recommended it for mostly nude performances of Marisa Tomei. More on that later.

I am a fan of Darren Aronofsky, especially his bolder pieces Requiem for a Dream and Pi. While The Wrestler isn’t as edgy in terms of cinematography, the film has an gritty feel. The film opens with an intimate look at Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) as the camera follows him about his regular routine. The camera follows behind him, hiding his face until we arrives at his day job, a sort of unveiling of the public face of Ronnie Robinson.

The Wrestler looks into the life of a Wrestler in the twilight of his career. Once the star of the spotlight with sold out matches and video games is now a washed up performer who has nothing left in his life but the empty satisfaction of performing in the ring. His family life with his estranged daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) is dysfunction beyond repair and the only friend he has outside of fellow wrestlers, who mostly admire him as a legend, is Cassidy (Tomei), a dancer at the local strip club. Tomei  spends the majority of the film naked but I have to save that she looks absolutely great for someone her age. Her Oscar nominated performance reminds me of the role she played in My Cousin Vinny where she was first nominated for an Oscar. I guess she’s great at playing New Jersey blue collar women.

Micky Rourke’s performance was fantastic to say the least. I was really caught up in the struggle Randy faced in trying to gain a higher sense of purpose in his now empty life. He is very deserving of his Best Actor nod.

The tragic story of The Wrestler is a small budget film that does what good small budget films do, tell a moving and dramatic story with little flash and wiz. The acting is extremely strong and the story is great, so why didn’t it get a Best Picture nod? I haven’t seen all of the Best Picture nominees yet so I can’t say if The Wrestler was left out of the group- what are your thoughts?

Related posts:

1. Oscar Watch: Frozen River
2. Oscar Watch: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
3. Oscar Watch: Milk
4. Oscar Watch: And The Winners Will Be…
5. Oscar Watch: Frost/Nixon