In Contention

Tag: Darren Aronofsky

  • REVIEW: “The Wrestler” (***1/2)

    Mickey Rourke in The WrestlerAFI Fest

    Darren Aronofsky went back to the drawing board on “The Wrestler,” a film that wallows in nuance, spearheaded by a performance of grace and subtle charisma.

    After “The Fountain” failed to catch on in any meaningful way (though this viewer considered it one of the best films of 2006), the director ravaged by a studio system that condensed his vision to an essence he wasn’t fully comfortable with, Aronofsky took up the reins of the most modest, straight-forward project he’s tackled in 10 years.  The result is as affecting as it is numbing.

    Mickey Rourke stars as Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a one-time head of the class professional wrestler who makes his living (barely) working in the independent circuit.  His body as beat up as Aronofsky’s confidence must have been two years ago (he wears a hearing aid as a result of his work description and the look of a broken mare across his face), Randy is in some ways the ultimate blue collar guy.

    Forget Joe the plumber, we’ve got Randy the wrestler.

    He gets by on what little income he can manage from his stake of this event gate or that, sleeping in his big Dodge van (a Ram, of course) when he isn’t able to meet the rent on his trailer.  His afternoon hang-out is the local dive strip club where he is friendly with Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), over the hill but with a goddess’s body and a heart of gold to match.  She becomes even more attractive, somehow, with the revelation that she has a 9-year-old son, a point of connection for Randy, who has been estranged from his daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) for many years.

    After an extreme match with a Mick Foley-esque contender leaves Randy a bloody mess, the wrestler suffers a heart attack, the truth tossed into his face like a cold bucket of water: stop wrestling or you’ll die.  That puts a damper on the road to a rematch with The Ayatollah, rekindling the good ole’ days with a former foe who sells cars now in Arizona.  Think Hulk Hogan taking on The Iron Sheik today, 24 years after the electrifying Madison Square Garden showdown that ushered Hogan to stardom.

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  • Helmers of the English language, the best and why: part one

    David CronenbergMy recent article on Clint Eastwood drew an excellent response from Nathaniel Rogers (a regular commenter) that led me to this article. In that piece, I make clear my admiration for Eastwood, his artistry and the fact I believe him to be among the three finest directors working in movies. I stand by that, because I do not feel every film a director makes needs to be a masterpiece, as long as they are growing and continually trying to reach for something new.  Even the greatest of artists fail, and in fact they learn more from failure than they ever do success.

    Before the knives are drawn and tossed my way I will remind all that this is my list, just an opinion. I have selected what I believe to be the finest 10 directors working in the English language (five today, five tomorrow). I am positive that there will be disagreement, but that’s what keeps the world turning. Bear in mind that one film does not a genius make, and that a body of work (at least four films) was essential for the list.

    With that, the filmmakers…

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  • LONDON: Surprise… it’s ‘The Wrestler’

    It’s a rainy Sunday night in London, and darkness fell a whole hour earlier thanks to the start of daylight savings. All of which only made me happier to be seated inside the warm cavern of the Leicester Square Odeon for my favorite event of the London Film Festival — the annual Surprise Film.

    Usually a hot title secured too late for inclusion in the main festival lineup, and not revealed until the title shows up on screen, the Surprise Film has a mixed track record. Festival director Sandra Hebron scored last year by getting “No Country for Old Men,” but I’ll never forget the groans of disappointment that greeted the opening credits of “Mrs Henderson Presents” in 2005.

    In the foyer before the screening, whispers were spreading that this year’s choice was either “Changeling” or “The Wrestler.” So as the lights went down and the logo of the Venice Golden Lion prize flashed onto screen, announcing Darren Aronofsky’s much-lauded new film, the murmur of approval around the theater was palpable. (Incidentally, I called this pick a few weeks back — mainly because I was so surprised not to see it in the lineup.)

    But Hebron had more than one surprise up her sleeve tonight — unusually for the surprise slot, both Darren Aronofsky and Mickey Rourke showed up for a post-film Q&A. Nobody was expecting that, and it made for my most entertaining festival experience so far, though I’m now kicking myself for bringing neither camera nor notepad (d’oh!) to the screening. A terrific coup for the festival — kudos to Sandra.

    As for the film itself, I’m still too shaken by it to offer much in the way of coherent thought, but count me among the yea-sayers. Deceptively simple in form but deeply probing as character study, it strikes me as exactly the right film for Aronofsky to have made at this point in his career. As someone who actively dislikes everything to do with the wrestling circuit, I had concerns about how much I could personally connect with the film, but it proved revelatory — sport aside, this is a story of the body as a war zone.

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Looking for quality in the festival world

    Guy Pearce in The Hurt LockerThis year’s Toronto International Film Festival just didn’t cut it for some people.  The talk of Oscar taking a break from the annual September showcase had become tired before films even began screening, and certainly before every major news outlet had chosen the angle as the only story worth telling.

    For 10 days, the excitement for what was on hand seemed terribly muted.  But for my part, I could not have been more enthralled.

    We’ve been gifted with frontrunners in the two lead acting categories (Mickey Rourke and Kristin Scott Thomas), performances that should maintain their bee-lines for nominations at the very least, despite what the next three months have in store.  A studio that looked primed for a much-deserved year off the Oscar circuit two weeks ago has emerged as a formidable contender yet again with two acquisitions that are already winning awards (Fox Searchlight).

    What’s more, true independent cinema was given a stage on which to perform without being obscured by big studio product seeking a pre-Oscar campaign boost.  As a result, at least two well-received sleepers have insinuated themselves into the film awards spotlight (“The Hurt Locker,” “Lovely, Still”).

    What’s not exciting?

    I started out this season thinking 2008 would be a weak year for cinema, perhaps on the level of 2005’s shoddy output.  The idea has been echoed in numerous corners, as well as by fellow contributors, but I feel the need to re-frame my philosophy on the situation.  2008 seems to be proving itself a much more measured year, perhaps with less “rah-rah” exhibitions of undeniable filmmaking talent than solid and penetrating works that are out there for the interested (and patient) viewer.

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  • 9/11 Oscarweb Round-up

    Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler• James Rocchi gets “Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow on the record. [Cinematical]

    • Ditto Anne Thompson. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • David Poland has considerable praise for John Malkovich’s work in “Disgrace.” [The Hot Blog]

    • Anthony Kaufman reports Toronto as a shot in the industry’s arm. [Wall Street Journal]

    • A.O. Scott from that of sobering realism. [New York Times]

    • Patrick Goldstein gets some choice quotes out of Darren Aronofsky and Mickey Rourke.  [The Big Picture]

    • David Germain makes sure you’re aware that Rourke is in the midst of a career comeback. [Associated Press]

    • Danny Wood corners Javier Bardem in Madrid for a little “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” talk. [The Independent]

  • 9/10 Oscarweb Round-up

    Spike Lee• Journos continue to catch up with the two-week-old narrative: Toronto isn’t an Oscar playground this year.  [Entertainment Weekly]

    • Anthony Breznican, thankfully, tries to come at it from a slightly different perspective. [USA Today]

    • James Rocchi sits down with Darren Aronofsky for some choice words in Toronto. [Cinematical]

    • Jeffrey Wells is in the tank for Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker.” [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • David Poland cranks out a beaming assessment of “The Hurt Locker” as well, with some great words for “Slumdog Millionaire” on the side. [The Hot Button]

    • Noah Forrest sits down with Neda Armian, producer of “Rachel Getting Married.” [Movie City News]

    • Gill Pringle kicks back with Seth Rogen across the pond. [The Independent]

    • Always looking for fresh angles, Michael Cieply comes at Toronto from the perspective of its music showcases this year. [New York Times]

    • In a poorly headlined (if you ask me) Oscar forecast, David Germain rounds up awards quotes from heavies such as Christian Bale, Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio. [Associated Press]

    • Spike Lee sets his aimless sights on the Duke, in case you don’t get the point the first time early on in “Miracle at St. Anna.” [New York Post]

    • Has James Franco signed on to an Oscar trajectory with the Gus Van Sant-produced “Howl?” [The Hollywood Reporter]

    • Who the hell honestly thinks Rod Lurie was attempting to tell the actual Valerie Plame story, and therefore, “distorted” anything?  Stupid… [Spout Blog]

    • Anne Thompson reports from party central in Toronto. [Thompson on Hollywood]

  • Fuck that

    Warner Bros. Pictures' The FountainThis Ben Child item at The Guardian has me steaming.  The quote, following a recounting of “The Fountain”‘s crash and burn at Venice two years ago, that pushed me over the edge:

    How would Aronofsky recover? Despite being heralded as one of Hollywood’s most hotly-tipped young film-makers, he was a little early in his career to be making such a horrendous, narcissistic error of judgement. But recover he has. Could it be that the epic failure of The Fountain was just the kick in the teeth Aronofsky needed to get him back on track? There’s nothing like wasting six years of your life on a project, only to see all the doubters that tried to stop you getting it made proved correct, to persuade you to keep it simple the next time.

    Ass.  There are some of us that actually liked the film, bub.  Enough to consider its ambition worth more than the shitstorm that ensued.  There’s never anything worse than critics that smell blood, but whatever.

  • Yes, but what about the ladies?

    Marisa Tomei in The WrestlerMickey Rourke is on an unstoppable course toward a Best Actor nomination for his performance in “The Wrestler.”  Universal acclaim for the film has yet to hit a speed bump and by and large, folks are on board for this apparent tour de force.

    But there are at least two other performances in the film that aren’t getting their fair share of a spotlight dominated by Rourke’s comeback story.  So I thought I’d go through the reviews and cherry pick the copy that’s been dedicated to Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood, the former perhaps set up for a supporting actress run if the suits at Fox Searchlight decide to spread the campaign love.

    I’ll update this post as reviews land.  The ladies need their own space!

    Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter:

    Tomei delivers one of her most arresting performances, again without any trace of vanity. Wood’s part is smaller, but she captures the scalding anger of a woman neglected for most of her life.

    Todd McCarthy, Variety:

    As vibrant — and as naked — as she was in last year’s “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,” Tomei is in top, emotionally forthright form as she charts a life passage similar to Ram’s, if much less extreme. Once her character stops stonewalling her father and hears him out, Wood provides a fine foil for Rourke in their turbulent scenes together.

    John Foote, In Contention:

    Tomei is excellent, once again giving a fearless performance in and out of her clothing as she did last year in “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” and Evan Rachel Wood is fantastic as Rourke’s estranged daughter who does not know if she’s ready to know her father again.

    Peter Sciretta, /Film:

    Mickey’s performance is worthy of all the Oscar buzz that has been floating around since the Venice premiere. Also, Tomei and Wood’s performances should not be discounted.

    Erin Cullen, Empire Movies:

    In her role as Cassidy, a stripper who develops a relationship with Randy, Marissa Tomei also offers a clear reminder of the caliber of acting that earned her two trips to the Oscars.

  • TORONTO: ‘Che,’ ‘The Wrestler’

    Benicio Del Toro in CheTwo masterpieces, one right after the other.  This was the day I had been waiting for.  I caught Steven Soderbergh’s “Che” today, all four hours and 20 minutes of it.  It’s a glorious achievement from a brilliant mind, one of the few directors who seeks to challenge himself constantly.  “Che” is audacious and bold filmmaking because not everyone will like it or even understand it perhaps.  Soderbergh digs deep into the mind of a brilliant man and allows us a lucky glimpse.

    Moments after the film ended, with barely a moment to regroup, I saw Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” — and now I understand what all the fuss is about.  If Mickey Rourke is not nominated for Best Actor for an Academy Award, there really is no justice.  But Hollywood can be quite the unforgiving town…

    (Reviews after the jump.)

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  • UPDATED: Want to hear Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Wrestler’ song?

    Bruce SpringsteenThe closing credits track from Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler,” a modest little ditty cooked up by the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen, is one of the elements of this buzz-hogging flick that has fans foaming at the mouth in anticipation.

    Well, it seems some industrious soul turned on a recorder at a recent screening of the flick.  That’s my best guess judging by the rough audio quality and the burst of applause at the beginning…

    BUT IT PAINS ME TO SAY that Fox Searchlight has asked us to take the song down.

    Sorry.  Not entirely unexpected, of course, but if you had a chance to listen, consider yourself lucky.  Personally, I think it’s vintage Boss, a solid number that seems a perfect fit for what this film appears to be.  Someone has also taken a stab at transcribing the lyrics, which are, as expected, sublime.

    And by the way, if you didn’t notice in today’s Oscarweb Round-up, excerpts from Clint Mansell’s score for the film have popped up on the composer’s MySpace page.  Typical Mansell, ambient, atmospheric, etc.  When is this guy going to get some Oscar love?

  • Sweet ‘Wrestler’ promo poster

    I love this old-school event poster for Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler.”  Smart:

    The Wrestler

  • The rush of TIFF

    I had to link to this Hot Blog post from David Poland, obviously iPhoning it from a crowded theater about to screen Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler.”  Here is the best portion:

    It’s exciting. Exciting in a different way than many other great fest experiences. It’s a real-time event. It’s real-time excitement that makes grown men giddy, fearful, ready for a fight, ready to miss out (all eyes on Rice and Battsek if they get up during the film).

    This is one part of TIFF. A rush. Not the heart of it all. But a piece we all crave.

    And then… the movie.

    This film is quickly becoming my most anticipated effort in a LONG time, but besides that, I love the feel of the room Poland paints here, a true example of what we can do with new media beyond Twittering and Facebooking.

  • ‘Wrestler’: Is Golden Lion just the beginning?

    As Kris just reported, Darren Aronosky’s “The Wrestler” has won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. No surprise there — in what was widely deemed a lukewarm festival, Aronofsky’s film, which only screened yesterday on the Lido, was one of the few outright critical sensations.

    What is surprising is that Mickey Rourke, whose lauded comeback performance is the predominant source of the film’s buzz, missed out on the Best Actor prize, which went to Italy’s Silvio Orlando for “Giovanna’s Father.”

    Perhaps the jury wanted to spread the love. Perhaps after wins for David Strathairn, Ben Affleck and Brad Pitt in the last three years, they felt American actors had been sufficiently rewarded for a while. Prize or no prize, however, this recognition for the film — to which his performance is so integral — makes it quite clear that Rourke is on the awards trail.

    But what of the film itself? In years past, the Golden Lion has been the start of a healthy awards-season run for a couple of films — examples include “Atlantic City,” “Vera Drake,” and most notably, “Brokeback Mountain.”

    It’s no guarantee of future glory, though. In 1996, Neil Jordan’s lavishly mounted biopic “Michael Collins” seemed poised for an awards sweep after it took the Golden Lion and its star, Liam Neeson, nabbed the Best Actor prize. But the film never quite clicked with other awards bodies — and on Oscar nomination morning, all that awaited it was a pair of technical nods.

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  • TORONTO: ‘The Wrestler’ is the talk of the fest

    Just two days and a few hours into TIFF 2008 and already one film is emerging as the talk of the festival.

    I do not see “The Wrestler” until Monday, right after “Che.” But I am counting the hours. Every year there seems to be a little film that arrives here with not a lot of advance notice and captures the imaginations of the audiences and critics on the way to becoming one of the hottest films of the season. Discovery is often what TIFF is all about. Finding that gem, celebrating it and letting the world know it is here.

    I remember “The Apostle” in 1997, as I’ve recounted in this space before. Two groups of men got up and ran out of the theater, dialing their cell phones on their way up the aisle. As Robert Duvall told it to me, they began making deals for the film in the lobby of the the theater, until Harvey Weinstein turned it into a nightmare.

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  • ‘Wrestler’ off to a good start

    Now this is good news. Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” bows at Venice tomorrow, but the trades have put up their reviews from Toronto … and they’re mighty positive.

    Todd McCarthy and the Hollywood Reporter’s Stephen Farber both give credence to those Best Actor rumours for Mickey Rourke. Farber calls the performance the best of his career, while McCarthy goes further, declaring it one of the great performances, period.

    On another note, I’m pleased to see that both critics confirm a hunch I had that Marisa Tomei — a personal favourite — would deliver too.

    McCarthy raves:

    Rourke creates a galvanizing, humorous, deeply moving portrait that instantly takes its place among the great, iconic screen performances. An elemental story simply and brilliantly told, Darren Aronofsky’s fourth feature is a winner from every possible angle.

    Rourke is simply staggering as Ram. The camera is rarely off him, and one doesn’t want it to be, so entirely does he express the full life of this man with his every word and gesture … As vibrant — and as naked — as she was in last year’s “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,” Tomei is in top, emotionally forthright form as she charts a life passage similar to Ram’s, if much less extreme.

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  • 9/2 Oscarweb Round-up

    Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler• Todd McCarthy does cartwheels for Danny Boyle’s “Sulmdog Millionaire.” [Variety]

    • Bruce Springsteen’s “Wrestler” track chokes Darren Aronofsky up every time he hears it. [darrenaronofsky.blogspot.com]

    • Peter Sciretta gives a quick, somewhat lacking review of Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky,” seems to be mixed. [/Film]

    • Across the pond, Penélope Cruz talks “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” and working with masters. [Daily Telegraph]

    • Not really awards-related (yet), but, wait…they’re turning “The Wave” into a German language film? Cool! News to me… [Empire]

    • Andrew Pulver separates the cheers from the jeers in Venice. [The Guardian]

    • If you’re looking for one hell of a spiffy awards section… [Rope of Silicon]

    • Rupert Friend makes one creepy Nazi in “The Boy in Striped Pyjamas.” [The Times]

    • Scott Bowles runs down ten fall flicks bursting with potential. [USA Today]

  • Bruce Springsteen tapped to write original song for ‘The Wrestler’

    Bruce SpringsteenAs if I need one more reason to see this film. The Boss? Seriously? Darren Aronofsky is hitting all the right spots with me lately.

    Apparently the director has recruited Bruce Springsteen (the greatest live show you’ll ever see, FYI) to pen an original track for “The Wrestler,” a film I’m already dying to see.

    Anne Thompson writes:

    The company [Wild Bunch] is debuting Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler late in Venice, concurrent with Toronto, because they’re waiting for Bruce Springsteen to finish his song for the movie’s credits.

    The fact that it is a closing credits number could hurt it’s Oscar hopes, given that the Academy has shied away from such material since the rule change three years ago. But a good song is a good song, dammit, and Springsteen is incapable of writing a bad one.

    Good lord I hope this is picked up in a hurry so I can figure out who to talk to about screenings!

    Springsteen won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1993 for “Streets of Philadelphia,” from Jonathan Demme’s “Philadelphia.” He was also nominated in 1995 for the title track to Tim Robbins’s “Dead Man Walking.

  • BEST ACTOR WATCH: Mickey Rourke in ‘The Wrestler’

    Mickey Rourke in The WrestlerFor some time I have been cautiously anticipating Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming film “The Wrestler.” I say cautiously because, as much as I love Aronofsky’s vision of a cinematic world slightly askew, I recognize his potential for going off the rails in blind artistic rage.

    I loved “The Fountain.” I found it to be one of the two best films of 2006, a unique and vigorous demand for new barriers in the cinema. Some people hated, detested it, found it a waste of celluloid, but I saw a filmmaker dissatisfied with the limits of his medium and stretching to make a different kind of film entirely.

    Then again, I hated “Requiem for a Dream,” the film largely agreed upon as a testament to his considerable talents. I found it to be an embarassing display, the sophomore slump from a director clearly going places.

    And of course, in “Pi,” I think many would agree that the seeds of expertise were sewn, the potential glaringly apparent.

    And now we get “The Wrestler,” which will bow at the 65th annual Venice Film Festival later this month. The film stars Mickey Rourke as a professional wrestler “making his way through the independent circuit, trying to get back in the game for one final showdown with his former rival,” according to IMDb. And for some reason, it sounds like a story with a lot of potential, to say nothing of what an actor as gifted as Mickey Rourke could do with a role such as this.

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