I'm seeing this tonight. Will let you all know what I think.

The Springsteen title track is now available from iTunes.

This isn't playing here for another month :(. Fuck.

Was at 100% at RT until Armond White came in with his negative review. Now I haven't seen the film, but since Armond White is the critic I detest most, it really is another positive review for me:)

I saw Darren and Mickey on 'Shootout' this morning.

Good interview, but a lot of repeat of things already posted in articles in this thread.


Kate Beckinsale came on after. She is so stunningly gorgeous.

I am both a wrestling fan and an Aronofsky fan so this is a day one for me.

I've only seen three outstanding movies this year - The Fall, Slumdog Millionaire, and now..The Wrestler. (I liked The Dark Knight and Doubt as well, but they don't come close to these three)


I just saw The Wrestler tonight and it is just....wow! Aronofsky is a master filmmaker. Great, touching stuff. Rourke should win Best Actor at the Oscars. And Marisa Tomei should get an Oscar for Best Nudity of the year. Holy shit - give that girl an award for being so hot! I was never that impressed with her, but she gets better looking as she ages.

Really looking forward to this..

I saw her in an interview talking about the nudity. She said that was a line she would never cross, until Sidney Lumet convinced her it was essential for the part in BTDKYD.

After she had crossed the line, she said, well it wasn't a big deal to do it again.

Which is indeed human nature in regards to violating your own moral code.

I think Sydney Lumet gave a great gift to the movie world in getting Marisa corrupted into being buck naked in a movie.

Saw the film.

Rourke was terrific. He lived the part. perfect.

Here's my issue with it.

One of the false notes for me is: his speech before the final match, while moving, didnt make any sense to me as something that fit the film.

Who makes a speech to a bunch of audience goons before a wrestling match? Why would a wrestling crowd care to hear a wrestler making such a speech? They just came to watch 2 guys smack each other around.

Thought I'd like the film more than i did. Cant fault Rourke's performance, which was great. I just thought the movie as a whole could've been a slam dunk, and it wasnt.

This film was a mild disappointment for me. I expected it to be an instant classic, but the ending wasn't that great. I still rank it among my 10 favorite films of the year.

as a wrestling fan i can tell you that wrestlers (espeically on the indy circuit) do make speeches on their final match for the company. On ric flairs final night in wwe, he made a lengthy speech.
granted this wasn't his last night with the company (it was billed as such) Here's a sample of one (it usually occurs after the match
<a href="http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=39903630">CM Punk Wins ROH Title from Austin Aries</a><br/><object width="425px" height="360px" ><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><param name="movie" value="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=39903630,t=1,mt=video,searchID=77dd138c-c2b3-4860-9431-12614d3b2a56,primarycolor=,secondarycolor="/><embed src="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=39903630,t=1,mt=video,searchID=77dd138c-c2b3-4860-9431-12614d3b2a56,primarycolor=,secondarycolor=" width="425" height="360" allowFullScreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent"/></object>

Saw this at the Arclight on Friday night. Overall, an entertaining film, especially the bits with Tomei and Rourke together -- both hilarious and heartbreaking.

Rourke? AMAZING. The guy was born to play this part. Easily in my top 10 performances of all time. I know the critics have taken some shots at the story (the LA Times had a particularly negative review), but well worth a watch just to take in Rourke's performance.

And I hope Tomei gets a supporting nod. She's not on screen long, but she absolutely owns the scenes she appears in.

Oh, and the Evan Rachel Wood segments should have been left on the cutting room floor. Fantastic actress, but ultimately pointless role.

The Landmark is better. ;)

I concur it seems very feesable. Ric Flairs farewell address (albeit the next night) was very emotional. Thinking back to Arn Anderson giving up his "spot" as well. Wrestling fans are very rabid but when one of our own step down we get very mature and sentimental.

Finally got to see this (the night I posted I was going to it was sold out and I saw The Reader instead). Fantastic film. It's now in my top three of the year with Wall-E and The Dark Knight. Rourke lived and breathed Randy "The Ram," and Aronofsky's style was so perfectly matched to the material. And the ending was absolutely perfect. It couldn't have ended any other way. I'm also not a Springsteen fan, but the song he contributes is very good.

http://www.lordsofpain.net/news/2008_/1230136596.php

Director Darren Aronofsky's new film "The Wrestler" starring Mickey Rourke has been getting rave reviews and winning awards left and right. The recent movie premiere brought out a number of pro wrestling legends, including Ric Flair, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Gret Valentine, Brutus Beefcake and others. With all the attention the film is receiving, WWE chairman Vince McMahon contacted Darren Aronofsky and requested a private screening of "The Wrestler". So, what did Vince think about it?

Whatever Vince told the director to his face remains a mystery, however a source close to the WWE boss says, "the word negative isn't strong enough to describe Vince's reaction. [This is] no surprise because Vince's vision of the 2008 image of wrestling and even fading stars directly contradicts what The Wrestler accurately portrays." Others in Vince's close circle knew going into the screening that this was the kind of movie he was going to despise.

After seeing it the other night and hearing that Vince set up a screening, I knew he would hate it. Its the pro wrestling image that he hides from the general public.

Vince is just an a-hole...what did he not like about the movie - that wrestlers choreograph their fights or take muscle enhancement drugs?

Yeah Vince got very rich off all those guys who died before 40.

No surprise he didn't like a reality based movie.

Somebody should kick him in the goddamned grapefruits.

my question to Darren would be, why bother

Excellent film all around. I'm wondering why there isn't more Oscar talk for a best picture nomination, since it's ranking higher on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB than the other movies.

I saw it a few days ago, and yet I still can't help but keep thinking about it. It's a complex character study that has you thinking about the choices the characters make, and it has you filling in the blanks in the past and in the future.

I think Aronofsky shows better directing here than he did with his other movies, where he had a tendency to overdo and hammer down some points. It's a lot more subtle but a fan of his work will still notice his touches. He's able to push Rourke, Tomei and Wood in giving great performances that really get deep into your heart and makes you feel for these real characters.

The screenplay is just wonderful. There's many layers to this film. It's mostly about a lonely man who is past his prime in doing what he loves for a career. But there is also the parallel story with the agiing stripper. Both of these professions are frowned upon by the public, and it's sad how so much is taken out of these characters, emotionally and physically, from performing their jobs in which they pretend to be someone else with a different name. With regards to Rourke's character, he is shut out of his home, his day job, the strip club, etc, and he tries earnestly to connect "out there" but the only place he seems accepted is inside the ring, even if it's only 50 people in the crowd cheering him on. It seems he only exists and is liked as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, not his true persona of Robin.

Rourke was simply amazing. I saw him last night on Letterman, and saw an even bigger difference between the him and the character. A lot has been said about Sean Penn being the favorite, but I thought Rourke gave a better performance that will last the test of time.

In response to some previous posts, I thought Wood's character was just right. She comes back into his life and she's right back out. As far as the ending goes, a wrestler's finishing move signals the end of the match and the end of the movie couldn't have ended in a better way.

Marisa Tomei is crazy sexy in this movie. goddamn.

:lol:

Heck, she's always been that way to me.

Vince hated Wrestling With Shadows, Beyond the Mat, etc... so I'm not shocked he hated this one.

I wonder what he thinks about Ready to Rumble. :D