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| Mickey Rourke |
Welcome to Alternative to What: a weekly column that tries to find a great alternative to driving to the multiplexes. Based on releases of that week, the selections will either be thematically related or feature recurring cast and crew. The goal is to help you better understand the diversity of cinema and hopefully find you some favorites while saving a few bucks. At worse, this column will save you money. Expect each installment to come out on Fridays, unless specified.
THIS WEEK:
The Wrestler (2008)
- Alternative To -
Foxcatcher (2014)
This weekend marks the release of the latest film from director Bennett Miller, whose dark and moody portraits of conflicting characters has created some of the best cinema of the past decade. With Foxcatcher, he tackles an American wrestling team as they practice with a psychopathic millionaire. The film promises to explore American culture and what the big dream actually means for us all. It is going to be dark, disturbing and leave an uncomfortable impression on the viewer. It may even be a strong Oscar contender when the awards circuit starts to kick up.
That is why for this week's Alternative to What, I have decided to recommend another Oscar-nominated film from director Darren Aronofsky called The Wrestler. While there isn't any actor in Foxcatcher that is actually doing a major comeback on par with Mickey Rourke, there's still the dark undertones and harsh realities of what we expect from these athletes when they are not in the spotlight. However, with The Wrestler, Rourke managed to stage an amazing comeback that while not earning him too many top billing gigs, lead to a healthy amount of work from there on. It was deservedly so, as the film manages to feature something tragic and metaphorical for the damaged star.
As an aging wrestler, Rourke's story follows him as he goes about the route of going from a wrestling gig to a more complicated private life. He has an estranged daughter and is dating a stripper. There's more to it, but the film becomes this dark drama that manages to get into a lot of compelling harsh realities. Even if Aronofsky has always been a little visceral with films such as Requiem for a Dream, he has rarely been this nuanced and lacking of stylized scenery. There's something poetic to the simplicity.
The film eventually lead to an Oscar nomination for Rourke and co-star Marissa Tomei. They were very much deserved as the two performances are aspects that carry the film for the most part. Along with Evan Rachel Wood, there's a lot of character drama that goes on behind the scenes as the film explores the vulnerability of man. All that Rourke really has is his career and can't afford to give it up. For many, the ending symbolizes the death of his career while others contemplate that he has the strength to carry on. It has been a vague enough scene that it still gets occasionally talked about among fans. It was even asked by Aronofksy on many points to explain it.
While the films may have different approaches to wrestling, there's still the common themes. There's a desire to strive in a society that outcasts you because of your irrelevance. While I have yet to see Foxcatcher, I feel like The Wrestler is a less violent film that will mostly appeal to those who find something compelling in the performing arts aspect of beating someone up. Even then, don't get caught up in having to be a nut about it to enjoy The Wrestler. It is more of a character drama that works on its own basis and explores how dysfunctional behaviors don't have to be your end game. You can come back. From what I gather, that's a little more optimistic than Foxcatcher. You decide.
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