JC Technical analysis: The Wrestler (Aronofsky, 2008)

The Wrestler is a thriller film starring Mikey Rourke, for which he won a BAFTA for best leading actor and received renewed interest in his acting career. The story follows Robbin Ramzinski, known in the wrestling world as Randy 'The Ram' Robinson, who in the 1980s was a prominent proffesional wrestler. We emerge 20 years later in the period where he is past his prime, for Robinson to agree to a 20 year anniversary rematch against 'The Ayatollah'.

In this piece, I will attempt to deconstruct the opening sequence of the film technically.

Camera

When we first see Robinson, the camera is at a low angle, long shot, connoting that he is still of importance and should be respected. However in the same shot, his manager walks in and talks to him; in this shot, the top half of his managers' body is out of shot, implying that Robinson is of less significance than he once was. This is further implied when he leaves the arena, when the camera zooms out on him, suggesting that he is smaller than we are led to originally believe.

After leaving the arena and returning home, Robinson finds himself locked out of his trailer. He then proceeds to get into hist truck, where he turns the music on. At this point, we switch to a Close Up of his face; this, coupled with the melancholic music and the expression on his face, connote a stark realisation of the life he now leads in comparison to his former glory.

There is a continuous line of action following Robinson throughout the opening sequence.

Mise-en-scene

As the opening credits roll, there is a collection of nostalgic posters, tickets, programmes and flyers advertising the bouts that Robinson comepted in, quotes from Robinson in magazines and pictures of him. This conveys a sense of former glory and nostalgia, whilst also conforming to the generic expectations of similar films, in that the lead character often has their career destroyed in some way, only for them to be given one last shot at glory - for example, Rocky.

When he climbs into his truck, Robinson opens a can of energy drink. This suggests that his wrestling career is far less glamorous than before, as it is often common to celebrate a victory by drinking champagne. This idea of an unglamorous lifestyle is further enhanced when he returns home, and we find out that he lives in a trailer.

Sound

The film opens to the sound of cheering and chanting, as well as rock music and commentary, as we go through the montage of Robinson's nostalgic items, denoting his former glory. However, as these images fade out, we hear coughing and wheezing, and when the camera flicks back we see Robinson sitting on a stool.