This is by far the best of movie of the year (For me, the movie year starts from March 2008 to February 2009, when the Oscars will be held). The great return of Mickey Rourke. I've never really seen his past movies, but I know he's like a B-grade actor and most of his stuff is pretty bad. Until Sin City came along. He had a small role there, but he killed. The Wrestler is probably his best film yet, and it's only fair that the Academy gives him a best actor nod. He plays an aging wrestler, whose glory days are far behind him, as he tries to make nice with his estranged daughter, played by Evan Rachael Wood. The violent (and very bloody) wrestling scenes are as intense as those intimate scenes involving Mickey and Marisa Tomei (who plays a stripper). The final scene in the movie was one of the most heart wrenching ones I've seen in a long time.
Bruce Springsteen wrote the song The Wrestler for the end credits. I swear it's one of his best work in the past ten years. He'll probably win the Oscar for best original song again (his first one was Streets Of Philadelphia back in the mid 90's). And I also found out that Bruce and Mickey are good buddies and Mickey approached Bruce to do a song for the film, which he did--for free!
"I wrote Bruce a letter, because we've known each other over twenty years, and he knows what I used to be, or whatever. Where I went. What I'd been reduced to. I told him how I felt lucky now and didn't have to end up being this guy, being Randy (character from The Wrestler). A while later I got a call in the middle of the night: he said he'd written a little song, for nothing. It's fucking beautiful, right? I was honored he took the time, because he's a busy cat. I mean, I'm so goddam proud of this magical movie and to have Bruce's input... ain't nobody in Hollywood with all their millions can just ring the man and he'll do a song, y'know?"
- Mickey Rourke
Go watch the film.
