There are many instances where you hear about a director’s next project—especially a director who picks and chooses his movies carefully—and you read casting news stories, blog postings, and rumours, but it never feels like a reality until you actually SEE something from the film, be it a poster, production still, a trailer. This is one of those moments, as we’re treated with our first look at Mickey Rourke as the lead character in Darren Aronofsky’s THE WRESTLER. There was rampant speculation on Aranofsky’s next project, that I didn’t give much thought to the fact that he’s making a film set in the world of professional wrestling. But check it out, he is.
Rourke plays Randy “Ram” Robinson, who is forced to give up his wrestling career due to heart problems. He gets a job at a deli, moves in with an aging stripper (Marisa Tomei, who continues to impress in darker fare), but is soon drawn back to the ring by the prospect of a rematch with his former nemesis the Ayatollah. This sounds great. Aranofsky is one of the most visually talented directors working today, and I’m thinking THE WRESTLER can do for wrestling movies (what wrestling movies?) what RAGING BULL did for boxing movies. Click on the photo for a hi-res version.
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