Friday, March 28, 2014

My Favorite Scene: The Wrestler

Darren Aronofsky’s career is full of marvelous set pieces, whether haunting, sexy, fun or dangerous, the man knows how to cut a memorable sequence together. Interesting then that one of the best scenes of his career is a patient, heartfelt conversation between a desperate father and the daughter he walked out on long ago.

Soon after Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) suffers a near-fatal heart attack, he decides to reenter the life of his estranged daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood). Their first meeting doesn’t go well, with Stephanie becoming enraged after Randy uses his illness as a ploy for pity. But during their next encounter, Randy comes offering gifts, and convinces Stephanie to hang out with him at their old favorite spot.


We cut to the drab, isolated boardwalk in Ashbury Park, New Jersey. Stephanie doesn’t remember ever coming here with her father, but Randy recalls fond memories of year’s past at this very spot. After a moment, we cut to a wide establishing shot of Randy and Stephanie sitting in a large, hollowed out portion of the boardwalk. The distance of this shot helps solidify the emotional detachment between Randy and Stephanie, as do the close-ups, which are careful to never frame the two actors together. And it is during Rourke’s close-up that he delivers what is, in no uncertain terms, the single best scene of his career.

Randy begins by admitting fault. Admitting that he was supposed to be the caretaker; he was supposed to stay and make things right. “It just didn’t work out like that,” he dimly offers. Then Randy does something dangerous, at least as far as apologies go, and relents his weakest moment: that he used to pretend Stephanie didn’t exist. Notice the devastating, self-reflective chuckle that Randy lets out, mocking his own selfishness. Randy’s apology ends with the now famous sentences that define The Wrestler, and its star in general. Equating himself to a piece of meat, admitting that he deserves to live alone.
There are so many things to note about this scene, perhaps most significant is that the dialogue was all created by Mickey Rourke himself. He told Aronofsky that if he had to give this moment his all, then the words had to be his. Aronofsky let Rourke roll with it, and the actor delivered one of the most moving monologues I’ve ever heard. Another aspect of the scene to note is Wood’s performance (which, in general, didn’t garner nearly the amount of acclaim it deserved). She forces Stephanie to conceal emotion until it is no longer possible, formulating an expression of shame, fear, anger and forgiveness, all in the span of a few seconds. The result is nearly as moving as Rourke’s heartfelt delivery.

But what a delivery it is, timed perfectly with two falling tears of pain right as Randy speaks his final words. That’s the skill of an actor at his most vulnerable, completely in touch with his craft.  It’s an actor gently announcing that he’s back in the ring, with no intention of leaving. I’m still holding out hopes that Rourke will live up to his promise.


29 comments:

  1. Great post Alex! Haven't actually seen The Wrestlers but well done on convincing me I should! I hope this is an indication that you'll be writing a review on Noah soon haha.

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    1. Thanks so much, Angela! Really appreciate you stopping by and commenting. You should definitely check out The Wrestler when you can. Such a great, great film. I'll be writing about Noah this weekend - can't wait to see it tonight. Also, I'm really digging Cinema 13. Very cool looking site!

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    2. No worries Alex! I trust your taste so I'll definitely be watching it in the near future. Looking forward to reading your review! And thanks for that Alex :) You have no idea how much that means to me

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    3. My pleasure! Keep sticking with it. You're putting up some great stuff :)

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  2. That is a great scene as for me, it's Rourke laying it all on the line about everything that he did. All of the bad things and such where you know that Randy is just trying to atone for his sins. Of course, he would screw up but he didn't mean to.

    It's among the many scenes into why it's one of my favorite films and certainly my favorite Aronofsky film.

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    1. I agree as well! I dig all of Aronofsky's work, but there's something about The Wrestler that hits hardest for me. In this scene, we're listening to Randy make amends, but we're actually listen to Rourke, which is such a ballsy thing for an actor to do.

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  3. Easily my favorite scene of this film as well. I agree with you that this is probably the single greatest scene of Rourke's entire career. It's heartbreaking (especially now knowing how the movie ends) and is probably the ONLY time I wanted to rush over and give Rourke a hug.

    Can't wait to read your thoughts on Noah!

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    1. Ahh that's what makes the scene so good, that you just want to give this "broken down piece of meat" a huge hug. What a moment.

      Posting my Noah review soon!

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  4. Incredibly post, Alex. This scene is such a heartbreaker with some of the greatest performances by actors. I had absolutely no idea that Rourke went off script for that monologue, and boy did it pay off! I remember being absolutely heartbroken the first time I saw this in theaters, but your breakdown of it here makes me realize how much greater an impact it delivers.

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    1. Thanks Courtney! I wasn't aware that Rourke made up all his dialogue with Evan Rachel Wood until years after the movie was released. That's just fucking astonishing, really. So glad to hear you like the film and my post. I really appreciate your kind words!

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  5. I think this is a terrific film and that it has many moving scenes in it. You picked a great one. Another that will always stand out for me is when the aging dancer played by Tomei is looking around the club with a hurt/fearful expression realizing that the longer it takes to find a man who wants a dance is further confirmation that she's not going to be able to keep the job for much more time, and then her look of relief when Rourke's character walks in is palpable.

    (And let me just say that Tomei looked fantastic for any age, let alone being in her mid forties.)

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    1. Great pick. That's the scene that I felt should've won Tomei the Oscar. She's so lost and disheartened, it just kills me. And yes, she looks amazing for any woman, age be damned.

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  6. Such a great scene, Alex! As a wrestling fan, this movie changed my perspective on the industry even though I already knew it's an entertainment sport. Rourke's monologue and performance is so heartachingly realistic and brave. I could honestly watch The Wrestler over and over again - if my emotions could handle the experience. :)

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    1. Thanks Katy! I know exactly what you mean... I feel like I could watch this one on repeat, if only it didn't slay me everytime I finish it. One of the best films from the past 10 years, no doubt.

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  7. One of the most powerful scenes ever. I also loved the wide establishing shot of the two of them, with that beautiful view on the background. It has to be one of my favorite shots from Aronofsky along with the one of Jennifer Connelly in a red dress in Coney Island’s Pier, in Requiem for a Dream.

    This was the highlight of The Wrestler for me. What a scene. I loved Rourke’s 80s performances, so when I found out he was doing this I was glad for him, and I didn’t know that he chose the words, that’s great! You can really feel the honesty in his words, and he delivers a terrific performance. Besides, as you’ve said, Evan Rachel Wood is quite underrated sometimes, and she was amazing here.

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    1. I love that you're a fan of that establishing shot as well! Aronofsky really knows how to construct an perfect frame. I'm a huge fan of Rourke's work, but for me, The Ram is his crowning achievement. It's all together remarkable.

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  8. Great breakdown of a wonderful scene. I had no idea Rourke was ad-libbing, though. That just further solidifies it in my mind as one of the greatest performances certainly of that decade and probably of all-time.

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    1. Yep, I completely agree with you - as good as acting gets. He actually wrote all of his dialogue for the daughter scenes, which is just incredible. I adore him in this film.

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  9. This is definitely the scene that won Rourke his Golden Globe and should have won him his Oscar (damn you, Mr. Penn!). So great, so raw, so beautiful.

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    1. I know right! I love Penn in Milk, but that was Mickey Rourke's Oscar. Such a shame... I'm not sure he'll ever have a chance at another one.

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  10. Great scene and performance from a heartbreaking movie. I hope Rourke does something big again.

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    1. Me too man. I'm sure he'll kill it in Sin City 2, but he needs more great work like this. I really hope it happens.

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  11. Yep, that's my favorite scene too. Two actors nailing it, breaking our hearts. Great stuff.

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    1. For sure. On my last viewing, Wood especially stole my heart. Such a perfect performance.

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  12. The raw honesty of this scene really strikes me. Great post, as always.

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  13. This scene - and the film for that matter - show just how good Mickey Rourke can be. I watched Iron Man 2 (which I enjoyed) last night but perhaps the most disappointing thing about it is the wasteful use of Rourke. It begins with that cringe-worthy scream in his first scene and it never gets any better.

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    1. I agree with you - IM2 didn't capitalize on Rourke's talent, which is such a shame. I really thought the combo of The Wrestler and IM2 would be his big crossover into a legit comeback, but sadly, he's kind of faded off again. A bummer, because I really love this guy.

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