tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294916540840535575.post5170154184913843202..comments2024-03-22T08:29:01.459-07:00Comments on Are the hills going to march off?: The Wrestler (2008) A Film by Darren AronofskyCarson Lundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164962777812861110noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294916540840535575.post-36058640193896062742010-08-22T23:00:30.708-07:002010-08-22T23:00:30.708-07:00This film is heartbreaking. I put it off for as lo...This film is heartbreaking. I put it off for as long as I could. It took the anger from Sean Penn winning the Oscar to give me the final push to finally queue it up. I guess, somewhat ironically, I owe Mr. Penn some gratitude. <br /><br />This isn't a perfect film. It has some issues. Carson, I agree on the daughter subplot. To some degree, it felt like it became a quick addition for the sake of lengthening the film by 10-15 minutes. I also have mixed feelings about the final image. I understand the necessity of closing the narrative in the wrestling ring, but to do it with Randy taking the flying crucified Jesus pose...I wasn't the biggest fan.<br /><br />Issues aside, the film left me wiping my eyes consistently. I'm not one for steady use of hyperbole, but Mickey Rourke delivers one of THE greatest performances of an American actor in this decade. At the core of Randy's layers of nuance rests a profound amount of dignity. The fact that Randy is never reduced to a joke or punchline speaks volumes on the part of Rourke and his collaborators.Iammine78https://www.blogger.com/profile/17335243265667781924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294916540840535575.post-64889254674204801022010-08-10T13:17:48.326-07:002010-08-10T13:17:48.326-07:00I'm not saying that the camaraderie between th...I'm not saying that the camaraderie between the wrestlers is forced or gawked at. I think Aronofsky respects their determination and creativity, considering what they are doing is not so far from what he's doing as a filmmaker: creating artifice and passing it off as real to a mass audience. What I was saying is that the very fact that he chooses to reveal what's done behind the scenes in a sport that most people knows is "fake" but haven't actually seen the machinations of it is a daring, revealing, and kinda funny move. I think the way the wrestlers communicate with such a shared well of knowledge about certain moves is supposed to be dryly humorous. Maybe it's less satire than it is the simple comic relief that you are suggesting the Todd Barry scenes are.Carson Lundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10164962777812861110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-294916540840535575.post-7144128094811649272010-08-10T13:02:20.395-07:002010-08-10T13:02:20.395-07:00One of my favorite films, so I'm glad you wrot...One of my favorite films, so I'm glad you wrote about it. I agree with a lot going on here, but I have a couple gripes with your analysis. I don't necessarily think the daughter subplot was underdeveloped. The build up to acceptance was nicely paced, and then their relationship abruptly ended which I think showed how much of a fuck-up Randy was, and how he was meant to be nowhere else but in the ring. The Todd Barry scenes were comic relief, pure and simple. I neither loved them, nor hated them, and just sort of took them for what they were.<br /><br />My main beef is with your 2nd to last paragraph in which you describe the film working as a satire and those scenes as humorous. I entirely disagree with this, and feel that this outlines the mutual respect between the wrestlers, and their absolute devotion to their sport, which they treat almost like an art. They plan their matches in this way, creating almost a plot outline with how the match will go, but not spelling it out completely. Yes, they let Randy win, but in that world, he's a legend who's victories are much deserved, and he in turn offers words of kindness and encouragement to the wrestlers. It's not as dark and serious as other segments in the film, but I think it's absolutely serious and real for what it's portraying.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11673471895954082550noreply@blogger.com