The best film of 2008 is coming to DVD and Blu Ray. Lots of supposed film fans in and out of Hollywood missed this brilliant and brutal instant classic in theaters - a crime, really - but now that injustice can be rectified in the privacy of your own home. If you haven't seen it yet, buy it immediately. If you have, buy it anyway. We need to support brave and honest films like this when they show up.
THE FILMMickey Rourke stars as Randy The Ram, a famous eighties wrestler who, twenty years later, barely scrapes together a living on the amateur wrestling circuit. He lives in a dirty trailer. His daughter refuses to speak to him. He humiliates himself with a day job in a grocery store. And women generally recoil at his broken and swollen face. The only tenderness he enjoys is the friendship with an older stripper (
Marisa Tomei), who may or may not actually care about him outside the strip club. You can read my initial and more detailed review
right here. To that review, I will add that this, my third viewing, revealed even more nuance and depth than I had previously realized. Director
Darren Aronofsky - who deserved to win Best Director - opens the film brilliantly. We see several minutes of shots of Mickey from behind, before Aronofsky allows his camera to swing around and reveal Mickey's brutalized face; it's a stunning and brave moment in the film. And having watching it now, post-Oscars, I just cannot believe Rourke did not win the Oscar for this performance.
Sean Penn was excellent in
MILK, but nothing can really touch this once-in-a-lifetime performance. The only reason I can imagine for Rourke's loss at the Oscars is that most of the Oscar voters skipped this film. What a shame. In all, it's the best film of last year. Anyone who claims to love films must see this rare and perfect artistic triumph.
THE EXTRAS Besides the crystal-clear version of the film, you get two long (nearly an hour each) looks behind the scenes of the film. WITHIN THE RING - Takes a look a the making of the film. I was shocked at the bare-bones nature of this production. While this was a Hollywood film with a respected Hollywood director, the shoot was not glamorous or ritzy. Using hand-held cameras and no storyboards, the production flew by the seat of its pants throughout most of the shoot. This is in stark contrast to Aronofsky's previous efforts, and I certainly hope he continues to explore this type of filmmaking. WRESTLER ROUND TABLE - This gathers together famous older wrestlers like "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and others for a discussion of THE WRESTLER and its depiction of the sport. No surprisingly, the wrestlers at this panel all agree that Rourke and Aronofsky captured something special.
OVERALL GO BUY THIS RIGHT NOW. It is inexcusable for any film fan to lack this in their collection. Films like this one are rare gems that need to be supported and treasured. Go buy it, watch it, and then write to me with your thoughts.