By Alex Muhindura/entertainment editor
Mickey Rourke gives a powerfully haunting performance in The Wrestler and carries a movie that would have been average at best without him.
He blurs the line between the character and his life as the aging, washed-up actor from the ’80s portrays a former wrestling star now a shell of his former self and attempting a comeback to jump-start his career.
The parallels are spooky, down to the raspy voice and a face that looks as though it was beaten with a tenderizer.
The film, directed by Darren Aronofsky in his first good movie since Requiem for a Dream, follows former star Randy “The Ram” Robinson 20 years after his heyday as he works odd jobs and performs at small-scale wrestling events.
This scenario is probably what Hulk Hogan would be doing if reality TV had not come along.
The film’s grainy, gritty feel resembles a documentary.
The film also gives an in-depth look into the macabre world of professional wrestlers, filled with pain, drugs and self-mutilation. These new age gladiators sacrifice their bodies for money and adulation, and when their time is up, they fill smaller coliseums.
If the movie is a trip through the seedy underbelly of the wrestling world, then The Ram is our tour guide. Rourke threw himself into the performance, and it shows up on screen.
He wears the face of a man who knows he is living on borrowed time.
From the elaborate taping process to protect old joints to the shopping for dozens of types of steroids and medications and especially when doctors are removing staples, barbed wire and glass shards from his skin after a brutal match, The Ram illustrates what happens when the lights dim on our stars.
The movie also shows the human fascination with fame, whether it’s the people snapping pictures because he used to be somebody or the faded star being deluded into thinking he has a shot for a comeback.
Society has a warped sense of importance based on popularity, and those we hoist up find it hard to adjust when we rip them back down.
From Mick Jagger touring the world with a hoarse voice to a gray-bearded Brett Farve tossing interceptions in December, the world is littered with stars who can’t hang it up.
In his latest film, Mickey Rourke manages to channel his inner demons to give a wonderful and engaging performance.
Maybe he’s not done after all.
