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Screen Magazine - Index

Screen Magazine - Screen Magazine: Vol. 29, Issue 21 - Index

While the film is undeniably violent (how
could a film about professional wrestling not
be?) there are also scenes of unexpected
poignancy and immediacy. The tentative,
bittersweet scenes of Randy’s attempts at
reconciliation with is estranged daughter,
powerfully played by Evan Rachel Wood,
are pitch-perfect stolen moments of loss and
misunderstanding.
I asked Rourke how many hours of rehearsal
they had together: “Believe it or not, none;
she just nailed it first time every time out. I
loved working with her.” What he neglects to
mention is that he nails it, also.
In particular, their scene together, set on a
gray, wintry day on the empty boardwalk in
Asbury Park and later in a ghostly, abandoned
amusement arcade, is a lovely, tentative
minuet of atonement and forgiveness. The
look of genuine grace and surprise on
Rourke’s face, when he realizes that his
Notwithstanding that it is
a film that was made 53
years ago, Max Ophuls’
“Lola Montes,” shown at the
Festival in a definitive new
35 mm restoration, is an
unqualified masterpiece. This
glorious restoration from the
Cinematheque Francaise,
originally showcased at this
year’s Cannes Film Festival,
was the spotlight retrospective
of the Festival. It is also the
only film ever to have been
selected for the Festival
three times. The film opened
commercially last month in
New York and Los Angeles.
A Chicago engagement will
follow this month. No matter
what the weather, Thanksgiving
commitments or post-election
bliss (or blues) do not miss the
chance to see – the way Ophuls
intended it to be seen – the film
that eminent film critic Andrew
Sarris calls “the greatest film of
all time.” Every true cineaste
should be thankful to Rialto
Pictures for distributing this
absolute gem.
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daughter is giving him another chance, is
transcendent.
Later, in an off-stage conversation, Rourke
reflected, in candid and disarming fashion,
on his rollercoaster career. “Look, I turned
down a role in ‘Pulp Fiction,’ because I was
arrogant enough to think ‘I don’t want to be
in a film where I’m making less than John
Travolta.’ The late ‘80s and most of the ‘90s
in some ways were a blur… I blew off many
opportunities. But that’s history and now I’m
very proud of my work in this film. That’s what
I’m focusing on.”
Fox Searchlight opens “The Wrestler”
commercially on December 19.
Peter Stamelman is a New York-based talent
agent who has written frequently about
film and photography for “Sight & Sound,”
“Shoot,” “ArtAsiaPacific” and “The Riverdale
Press.”
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