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The Wrestler Gets Raves

Posted by Susan Thea Posnock On December - 15 - 2008

It is pretty amazing to see a film earn such unanimous praise.  The Wrestler currently enjoys a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  Metacritic still hovers at a chilly 83 and it’s debatable that the Edelstein review is really that bad – he did offer it up as a Critics’ pick.

EW’s Owen Gleiberman gives the film a solid A and writes about Rourke:

That’s something Mickey Rourke must know a lot about. As a young star, he was a bow-lipped bad boy who wooed women on screen with his soft voice and twinkly, knowing smile. Now, it’s not just his look that has changed; he seems stunted — all muscle and scar tissue, a figure of damaged loss. Miraculously, though, the softness remains. In The Wrestler, Rourke is at once an authentic former wrestling superstar, a Here’s How They Look Now! tabloid curiosity, and — more than ever — a great actor. With platinum hair down to his back, he’s like some bloated, freakazoid Sammy Hagar, and he makes you feel every crunched bone and pained breath, the way that Randy subjects his body to punishment to remind himself he’s alive. Aronofsky plays off Rourke’s fallen-icon status by feasting on that spectacular, pulped wreck of a face. Yet from within that mountain of wounded flesh, Rourke gives Randy a deep, slow voice of disarming gentleness. Randy is the soul of decency encased in a monster’s physique, with a buried sadness that, pushed far enough, explodes into rage.

And Edelstein on Rourke:

This is a case where an actor makes the difference. Mickey Rourke was once among our most charismatic leading men: alert, wittily self-contained (he always seemed to be smiling at a private joke), with a high but seductive voice. Whatever the hell he did to himself, it worked for Sin City, in which the makeup for his monster-man avenger Marv brought out the freakish poetry in his distended physiognomy. In The Wrestler, his face has that poetry without the makeup. Rourke has long blond hair that makes him look like a battered lion, and his tight, swollen mask makes Randy’s struggle to bare his soul even more momentous. It’s dumb, it’s outlandish, but smashing other people’s heads and getting his own smashed back really does complete him.

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No Response for "The Wrestler Gets Raves"

  1. jms67 December 15th, 2008 at 6:23 pm 1

    Beyond Mickey’s performance, the movie itself is very moving. I know it’s trailing some more obvious candidates for BP, but I like the Wrestler as a NGNG pick. If enough people see it and if it can get some word-of-mouth momentum, I think it has a chance.

  2. qwiggles December 15th, 2008 at 6:33 pm 2

    I’m in total agreement, jms67. More than Slumdog even, I came out of The Wrestler thinking, “If they push this properly, this could be a solid sneak BP nominee.” Of course, they haven’t pushed it properly, perhaps BECAUSE of Slumdog, and I feel that’s a shame. If MDB could win the show, imagine how far the more touching story of The Wrestler could go if it was positioned properly? Sigh.

  3. Sasha Stone December 15th, 2008 at 6:37 pm 3

    I am also in agreement and you’d get no argument from me. Of everything I’ve seen and loved this year this film has stuck with me, clung to me even — especially Rourke. I love the final shot. But everything about it is just so well done.

  4. The Natural December 15th, 2008 at 6:46 pm 4

    We have our lone Director spot.

  5. Free December 15th, 2008 at 7:22 pm 5

    I’m glad to keep hearing about Rourke’s performance and the movie. But his comeback performance I thought came in 2005. Can anyone deny he was the absolute best thing about Sin City? But then again, he could win an Oscar for this. Good for him.

  6. jms67 December 15th, 2008 at 7:27 pm 6

    Yes, qwiggles, I have a sinking feeling that the studio isn’t going to give this movie the visibility and positioning it needs. But it raises an interesting question: Does every movie today need a major “push” to get a BP nomination? (The emphasis is on “major,” because every Oscar hopeful needs something.) I would think there’s something to be said for the power of discovery, of finding a diamond in the rough and being a champion for an underdog. The odds are against it here, but sometimes the passion, the pride and the bullhorn of the champions trump the FYC ads, right? (If this is complete naivete, I hope someone finds it charming.)

  7. daveylow December 15th, 2008 at 8:23 pm 7

    When I saw this in Toronto, I left the theater with really very little to criticize. I wanted another scene with Rourke and Wood but it wasn’t really a flaw of the film. If anything maybe Tomei’s character needed just a little more development. But The Wrestler succeeds in what he sets out to do and Rourke gives one of those performances that you remember. I’m not sure I would nominate it for BP but it’s certainly a film I admire, more for its performances and script than for its direction.

  8. rosieposie December 15th, 2008 at 8:51 pm 8

    Rightly or wrongly, Fox Searchlight does seem to determine its annual darling, and throw all its weight behind it for BP. Witness last year, when it had 3 smaller films to choose from: Once (88 on Metacritic), The Savages (85), and Juno (81). Once was pretty haphazardly snuck in cinemas in the summer, The Savages got the same treatment in the late autumn, and Juno got all the pre-release “the next Little Miss Sunshine” studio hype and focussed marketing. It was all too clear from the beginning which horse Fox Searchlight had chosen to back.

    Once wound up with only a Best Song nomination (which almost didn’t happen due to a screwy interpretation of the rules), The Savages only got noms for Laura Linney and for Tamara Jenkins’ original screenplay, and Juno got the 4 major noms. So, jms67, one might say that it is hard for a film to overcome its studio’s lack of backing for BP.

    I see the same thing happening this year re: Slumdog and The Wrestler. Fox Searchlight decided before anything was released that it would push the crowd-pleasing Slumdog for BP, and make less of an effort for The Wrestler, which comes out of the gate as a harder sell with audiences. Fox Searchlight has positioned Slumdog as “this year’s hip film”, and The Wrestler as the film that will get an acting nod for Rourke and maybe Tomei, but nothing more.

    I will admit that, living in the Midwest, I haven’t seen either film yet, so I have no way of forming an opinion as to which is actually better, Slumdog or The Wrestler, and probably won’t be able to until at least January. But out here one can still watch the studio machine at work, and it is behind Slumdog. The question is, why can’t a studio make the same push with at least 2 films? Would it split the vote too much?

  9. Student of World December 15th, 2008 at 11:17 pm 9

    I saw this a week ago and cried at the end of this film. It was so incredible. I really would like to see this nominated for best picture.

  10. Alejo December 16th, 2008 at 8:13 am 10

    37 reviews on rotten tomatoes and its still at 100%! All we need is the blessing from Ebert and this movie’s good to go!

  11. Jon December 16th, 2008 at 10:20 am 11

    It’s a really, really, really good movie. Rourke does give an amazing and unforgettable performance and the film itself is deeply moving. I still wouldn’t go so far as to call it a great film like I thought “Milk” was. And as great as Rourke was as “The Ram” I still think I would give the Oscar to Penn who really captured Harvey Milk to a tee. Of course this then opens up the debate of historical figure (Milk) vs. fictional hero (The Ram). It will be a very close race.


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  • Contender Tracker

    Best Picture
    Up in the Air
    Nine
    The Hurt Locker
    An Education
    Precious: Based on the Novel
    Push by Sapphire

    A Serious Man
    Inglourious Basterds
    Up

    Julie & Julia
    Star Trek
    District 9
    Bright Star
    Where the Wild Things Are
    A Single Man

    Best Actor
    Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
    Colin Firth, A Single Man
    George Clooney, Up in the Air
    Matt Damon, The Informant!
    Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
    Viggo Mortensen, The Road
    Ben Foster, The Messenger
    Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man
    Michael Sheen, The Damned United

    Best Actress
    Gabby Sidibe, Precious
    Carey Mulligan, An Education
    Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
    Abbie Cornish, Bright Star
    Helen Mirren, The Last Station
    Michelle Monaghan, Trucker

    Best Supporting Actor
    Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
    Alfred Molina, An Education
    Stanley Tucci, Julie & Julia
    Peter Sarsgaard, An Education
    Robert Duvall, Crazy Heart
    Peter Capaldi, In the Loop
    Zach Galifianakis, The Hangover
    Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker
    Brian Geraghty, The Hurt Locker

    Best Supporting Actress
    Mo'Nique,Precious
    Anna Kendrick,Up in the Air
    Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
    Julianne Moore, A Single Man
    Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
    Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
    Samantha Morton, The Messenger
    Emma Thompson, An Education
    Cara Seymour, An Education

    Best Director
    Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
    Lee Daniels, Precious
    Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
    Lone Scherfig, An Education
    Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
    Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
    Neill Blomkamp, District 9
    Spike Jonze, Where the Wild Things Are
    Tom Ford, A Single Man
    Jane Campion, Bright Star

    Best Original Screenplay
    Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
    Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
    Jane Campion, Bright Star
    Quentin Tarantino,Inglourious Basterds
    Michael Haneke,White Ribbon
    Bob Peterson, Pete Docter,Up
    Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber, 500 Days of Summer

    Best Adapted Screenplay
    Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air
    Nick Hornby, An Education
    Spike Jonze, Dave Eggars, Where the Wild Things Are
    Peter Morgan, The Damned United
    Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
    Scott Burns, The Informant!
    Tom Ford, A Single Man

    Best Editing

    Chris Innis, Bob Murawski, The Hurt Locker
    Sally Menke, Inglourious Basterds
    Dana E. Glauberman,, Up in the Air
    Joel and Ethan Coen,, A Serious Man

    Best Cinematography
    Greig Fraser,Bright Star
    Robert Richardson,Inglourious Basterds
    Roger Deakins, A Serious Man
    Christian Berger, White Ribbon
    Bruno Delbonnel,Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
    Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker

    Best Art Direction

    Where the Wild Things Are
    Julie & Julia
    Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
    Bright Star
    Inglourious Basterds
    White Ribbon
    District 9
    A Serious Man

    Best Sound Mixing

    Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
    District 9
    Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
    The Hurt Locker
    Star Trek

    Best Sound Editing

    District 9
    Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
    Star Trek
    Up

    Best Costume Design
    Janet Patterson, Bright Star
    Jany Temime,Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
    Anna B. Sheppard,Inglourious Basterds
    Mary Zophre, A Serious Man
    Colleen Atwood, Public Enemies
    Consolata Boyle,Cheri

    Best Original Score
    Carter Burwell, Karen O,Where the Wild Things Are
    Carter Burwell,A Serious Man
    Michael Giacchino,Up
    Alexandre Desplat, Cheri
    Elliot Goldenthal, Public Enemies

    Best Foreign Language Film (submissions)

    Letters from Father Jacob, Finland
    White Wedding, South Africa
    A Prophet, France
    Dawson, Isla 10, Chile
    Nobody to Watch Over Me, Japan
    Prince of Tears, Hong Kong
    No puedo vivir sin ti, Taiwan
    Kelin, Kazakhstan
    Mother, Korea
    The White Ribbon, Germany
    Silent Army, The Netherlands


    Best Documentary Feature

    The Beaches of Agnes
    Burma VJ
    The Cove
    Every Little Step
    Facing Ali
    Food, Inc.
    Garbage Dreams
    Living in Emergency
    The Most Dangerous Man in America
    Mugabe and the White African
    Sergio
    Soundtrack for a Revolution
    Under Our Skin
    Valentino
    Which Way Home


    Best Animated Feature
    Up
    The Princess and the Frog
    Coraline
    The Fantastic Mr. Fox
    A Christmas Carol
    Mary and Max
    Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
    Ponyo


    Best Visual Effects
    Star Trek
    District 9
    A Christmas Carol
    Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
    Transformers


    Best Makeup

    Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
    District 9

    Best Song

    Best Live Action Short

    Best Animated Short

    Best Documentary Short

    China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
    The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
    The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
    Lt. Watada
    Music by Prudence
    Rabbit a la Berlin
    Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak
    Woman Rebel

  • Ampas Breakdown

    Actors-1,222
    Producers-462
    Executives-436
    Sound-411
    Writers-388
    Art Directors-373
    Directors-375
    Public Relations-370
    Members at Large-254
    Shorts/Feature Ani-335
    Visual Effects-272
    Music-233
    Editors-227
    Cinematographers-197
    Documentary-145
    Makeup-115
    Total Voting Members -approx 6,000
  • Tuesday, December 1, 2009: Official Screen Credits forms due

    Monday, December 28, 2009: Nominations ballots mailed

    Saturday, January 23, 2010: Nominations polls close 5 p.m. PT

    Tuesday, February 2, 2010: Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Samuel Goldwyn Theater

    Wednesday, February 10, 2010: Final ballots mailed

    Monday, February 15, 2010: Nominees Luncheon

    Saturday, February 20, 2010: Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards presentation

    Tuesday, March 2, 2010: Final polls close 5 p.m. PT

    Sunday, March 7, 2010: 82nd Annual Academy Awards presentation