Director: Darren Aronofsky (The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream, Pi)Cast: Mickey Rourke (Sin City), Marisa Tomei (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, My Cousin Vinny), Evan Rachel Wood (Across the Universe)
The Deal: Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Rourke) lives for the thrill and admiration of his wrestling fans, but his glory years were in the 80's and the turmoils of his job have started to catch up with his body. After a near-fatal heart attack leaves him questioning his life, he seeks to make amends with his neglected daughter Stephanie (Wood) while also trying to strike up a relationship with Cassidy (Tomei), an aging stripper who's best years also seem to be behind her.
Thoughts: This really was the perfect role for Rourke to prove he still had plenty of talent left in him. His portrayal of The Ram is effortless and so believable and honest. His look is exactly like one would imagine a pro wrestler who's past their prime, and Rourke acts the part in the same manner. It's these types of roles that will really allow Rourke to blossom on screen, and hopefully he finds more like it.
Unfortunately, outside of Rourke's performance, there is little else to rave about. Tomei was alright as a stripper, but she just didn't have much presence on screen. Wood's role was very underdeveloped and prevented her from ever getting the chance to stand out. The story was decent, about what you'd expect for a film about a washed up wrestler, but the viewers most likely to connect with The Ram are middle school boys who haven't quite realized how bad pro wrestling is.
The biggest things that jumped out to me while watching the film were the poor scene transitions. They were incredibly abrupt, instantly cutting away from one scene and into a completely different one. It made to flow very choppy, and was a big turn off for me. It reminded me of when I first started editing videos for YouTube and hadn't learned the transitions yet, so all the clips were directly butting against each other.
Verdict: Rourke's performance was wonderful and carried this film, pretty much everything it was touted to be, but it's not enough to distract from the underwhelming supporting cast and slightly better than average story. Worth seeing, but no need to rush. ☆☆☆1/2
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