Wordmonkey Writes : Coming Soon

Say what you like about Darren Aronofsky but he makes films which do not compromise themselves for the sake of the mass market. His frenetic, black and white debut Pi and 2000's blistering Requiem for a Dream exploded notions of genre, battered down walls of censorship and lingered in the conscious mind for days. It was a long six year wait until his next film but The Fountain eventually emerged from a maelstrom of delays, casting difficulties and budget cuts and it, predictably, polarised critics and viewers alike. Filled with dazzling images created without the use of any CG, it told a tale both epic and intimate, spread over a millenia and from one end of the galaxy to another. To say that what Aronofsky was trying to do was ambitious barely stratches the surface. I, for one, was mesmerised by the length and breath of the story and by the surprising subtlety of the whole endeavour but the lack of any definitive answers to any questions is something which most viewers will find unforgivable. Regardless, The Fountain is a unique and wonderful film which everyone should try to see once.

Which brings me to my actual point. Darren Aronofskys latest is heading to you local multiplex in January, after rave reviews at the Cannes film festival earlier in the year. The Wrestler tells the story of a washed up fighter (Mickey Rourke) who is coaxed out of sedentary retirement by the promise of reliving his glory days. But this is no simple martial arts story with an cliched final fight and an uplifting ending. The focus is not on the fight in the ring but the emotional, mental and social scars which this battered long-time loser carries with him. The central performance from Rourke has been touted as truly Oscar worthy. As a washed up former star playing a washed up former star, compounded by Rourke's own, truly terrifying post cosmetic surgery features, we have one of those rare occaisons where actor and character meld into one.

With Aronofskys sterling reputation and flair for examining some of the most complex issues in existence in a thought-provoking way, combined with Rourke's powerful performance, The Wrestler could be something truly special.

Check out the refreshingly raw and despairingly dramatic trailer and do your best to support this film on what will, no doubt, be a limited run...