The Squared Circle on the Big Screen

If you have watched Darren Aronofsky’s wonderful movie The Wrestler (2008) then you will realize that the world of professional wrestling is a murky one; its a world where you have to regularly take steroids to maintain a body fit for T.V, and where bizarre backstage politics influence your position within the company. The world of professional wrestling is a dog-eat-dog industry where premature deaths have become far too common-place. If you are both a newcomer to the world of professional wrestling or an ardent fan, there are two documentaries I highly recommend you watch. Paul Jay’s documentary Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows (1998) and Barry B. Blaustein’s documentary Beyond the Mat (1999). Both films cover the murkier side of the professional wrestling industry; focussing on the main players in wrestlings ‘Attitude Era’ of the late 1990’s.

 

Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows follows Brett ‘The Hitman’ Hart during the last few months of his WWE career. It covers the infamous ‘Montreal Screwjob’ (google it) where Brett was ultimately double-crossed out of a victory in his final match with the WWE. Its a stunning character study about trying to keep your dignity within the murky backstage politics of professional wrestling.

Beyond the Mat is billed as the ‘Movie the WWE doesn’t want you to see!’ It follows the careers of Terry Funk, Mick Foley, Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts and Darren Drozdov during the WWE’s heyday of the late 1990’s. Its a wonderful expose of the wrestling industry and puts across the artistry and athleticism that is involved in putting together the ‘fake’ matches.

As well as some fantastic documentaries about wrestling, many of the top wrestling stars through the years have tried their hand at acting, with mixed results. The first successful attempt at a wrestler appearing on film was Andre The Giant, who at the height of his fame starred as Fezzik in Rob Reiner’s classic The Princess Bride (1987). This paved the way for more and more wrestlers to attempt a career in Hollywood. The most famous break-out star is the seven-time WWE champion, Duane ‘The Rock’ Johnson who effectively ended his wrestling career in 2004 to star in movies such as Doom (2005) and the awful follow up to Donnie Darko (2001); Southland Tales (2006). Curiously, some of wrestlings biggest stars have failed to transpose their popularity in the squared circle to Box Office sales. Arguably the two biggest stars of the WWE in the last 10 years; Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena have both failed to recapture their in-ring charisma onto celluloid.

As you can see the worlds of professional wrestling and Hollywood have often crossed over with mixed results. If Aronofsky’s The Wrestler has wetted your appetite for the world of the squared circle, I highly recommend that you take a look at any of the films mentioned above.

The Wrestler

(Released 16/01/09)

Dir. Darren Aronofsky

Mickey Rourke – Randy “The Ram” Robinson

Marisa Tomei – Cassidy

Evan Rachel Wood – Stephanie Robinson

Mickey Rourke, taking the role of a lifetime plays Randy “The Ram” Robinson; a pro-wrestler picking up the pieces after his career has gone into free-fall after wrestlings “Golden Era” of the late 1980’s. Where Randy was once main-eventing the biggest wrestling shows in the biggest arenas, we cut to him 20 years later where he is now working local school halls for $200 a show. He is a bruised and battered shell of his former self, his body ravaged from years of steroid abuse. The film follows Randy’s attempts to reclaim his past glories in the wrestling ring and trying to repair the relationship with his estranged daughter, played by Evan Rachel Wood. Marisa Tomei also puts in a stella performance playing Cassidy, a stripper that Randy befriends.

Rourke’s performance as Randy “The Ram” Robinson is note perfect, at times its difficult to determine where the character of Randy ends and Rourke the actor begins. Its one of those rare moments in film where character and actor are indistinguishable; with Rourke attempting to resurrect his career in the same way as Randy. Although Rourke will understandably receive all of the plaudits and awards buzz for his performance, Marisa Tomei puts in an equally impressive and important performance as the stripper Cassidy.

The Wrestler can be read as a comment on the failed “American Dream” and how one deals with decline. There is a touching scene early in the film; Randy and Cassidy share a moment where they both declare that the “90’s sucked”. Its a wonderful moment that confirms that both of these characters are cut from the same cloth and long to recapture a better time in their lives.

Some may criticize The Wrestler  for being overly melodramatic; the relationship between Randy and his Daughter Stephanie does feel forced at times. However, director Darren Aronofsky manages to keep the scenes between Randy and Stephanie both subtle and touching. Towards the end of The Wrestler there could have been a danger for the film to go the route of the generic “Rocky” style ending. Thankfully, without giving too much away Aronofsky avoids this and comes up with a poignant and moving ending that is pitch-perfect. The moment Sweet Child ‘O Mine kicks in and Randy enters the ring for the final match of the movie you are hooked. At this moment you begin to see that despite all of Randy’s failings as a parent and a man, he is only ever truly happy and accepted in the wrestling ring.

The Dark Knight

(Released 24/07/08)

Dir. Christopher Nolan

Christian Bale – Bruce Wayne/Batman

Heath Ledger – The Joker

Aaron Eckhart – Harvey Dent/Two-Face

Maggie Gyllenhaal – Rachel Dawes

As I am writing this review The Dark Knight is currently ranked as the greatest film ever made on iMDB; above such classics as One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Goodfellas. Do I believe that The Dark Knight is the greatest film ever made? No it isn’t. Like most films, The Dark Knight has problems that stop it from claiming this crown. However, I do believe that The Dark Knight is the greatest film of its genre, and will be the best film released this year.

Christopher Nolan’s vision of Batman is epic. What separates The Dark Knight from previous ’superhero films’ is its depth. The Dark Knight transcends genre stereotypes. Being a ’superhero film’ in the classic sense, an epic crime thriller and an intense character study. Nolan has taken the Batman character back to his detective roots and made the film of 2008.

Of course as with any film, there are faults. The film is 20 minutes too long with a rather flabby second act. The character of Rachel Dawes, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal and previously Katie Holmes is as annoying as she was in Batman Begins. Not once did I believe that this character had the desirability to woo both Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent. Aaron Eckhart’s portrayal of the character of Harvey Dent was adequate but nothing amazing. I was never convinced with his attempts to portray the mentally and physically scarred character of Two Face.

I have tried my best to write this review without over-hyping the performance of Heath Ledger. To do so would take away the achievement of all the cast and crew involved with the production. However, to quote the 5-star Empire review, Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker is: “A force of fucking nature”. This performance should win Ledger a posthumous Oscar, it is the greatest on-screen villain since Kurtwood Smith’s portrayal of the sadistic ‘cop-killer’ Clarence Boddicker in Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop. Ledger owns the screen and has the entire audience in the palm of his hand. Manipulating your mental state at will, Ledger is able to make you feel both scared and amused at his psychotic shenanigans.

This performance is now Ledger’s legacy; his life’s work. It is truly a performance that will go down in cinematic history.

In many ways I hope The Dark Knight marks the end for the current crop of ’superhero movies’ as we have just witnessed the pinnacle of the genre.

Juno

(Released 08/02/08)

Dir. Jason Reitman

Ellen Page – Juno MacGuff

Michael Cera – Paulie Bleeker

Juno deals with the relationship between an expectant young mother and her unborn child. The film follows Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) throughout her unplanned pregnancy and how she comes to terms with this momentous change in her life.

Juno is a wonderfully written and structured film. The film is split into four chapters, each set in a separate season (Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer). The narrative develops as we transition from season to season, with the character of Juno seeing similar development. As is the trait of classic narrative structure, Juno links key character and plot developments to the transition of seasons: Juno learns of her pregnancy during Autumn; with her life as she knows it beginning to end (Dying). The relationships in Juno’s life hit rock bottom during Winter (Death). The Spring sees the birth of Juno’s child (Birth); and the summer sees Juno’s life and relationships return to some form of normality (Living).

The performances are functional at best, although particular praise should go to Ellen Page. As Juno MacGuff she really captures the arrogance of youth, and you genuinely feel her character developing as she learns of the pitfalls of life. There are some stand-out performances, however I feel that the directing leaves a lot to be desired. Although not awful, I still feel that Jason Reitman has to learn his craft and develop a directing style of his own.

While watching Juno it felt like I was going through a similar journey to our titular main character. Through the first two thirds of this film I found the character of Juno to be an arrogant character who seemed to have a witty quip for every occasion. But then, through Ellen Page’s subtle performance and a wonderful script, I began to sympathise with Juno as her life crumbled around her. It then hit me that I was probably meant to find Juno arrogant, it made the subtle transformation in Juno’s character more apparent and effective. Therein lies the brilliance of Juno. A subtle, absorbing film with a tremendous script and wonderful performance by its leading actor.

Welcome perverts!

Welcome along to Gobblers-Knob. If you were expecting a more ‘risqué’ website, then you should be ASHAMED you pervert! Anyway, onto the matters at hand. Gobblers-Knob is a website dedicated to reviewing the latest and greatest movie releases.

The next few posts will be a sample  of the film reviews and articles that I have had  published over the last 18 months.