Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Race Out and Rent
Posted By Scott Renshaw on April 21, 2009, 8:42 AM
The title of this regular item is actually apt this week; there's really something worth racing out and renting. Mickey Rourke stars as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, the titular gone-to-seed hero of The Wrestler -- and it's a performance as magnificent as the movie around it. Screenwriter Robert Siegel and director Darren Aronofsky tell a story about the addicting intoxication of celebrity, and how one sad guy can't leave his glory days behind him. It's brutal, unflinching and heartbreaking.
Less profound -- but still an entertaining piece of theater-turned-cinema -- is Ron Howard's adaptation of Frost/Nixon. Michael Sheen and Frank Langella reprise their stage roles in Peter Morgan's exploration of the interviews that re-defined both the ex-president and the chat-show host who talked to him. Just sit back and enjoy the nuances of the two central performances.
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