I always believe the essence of a film should be unveiled wordlessly, through the changes of shots, tension and drama instead "narration" or whatever in that category. Darren surely does a good job in this film, he really does. It may confuse or annoy you in the very beginning that barely any up-front shot is given to the leading character revealing any idea how he looks like but nearly all sequences are following the back of him -- Yes, we, as the audience, are "following" the character, being wherever he is at the moment yet without being exactly "him". Instead, we are like ghosts walking with him but still observing with our own minds. And that's how the cruelty begins.
There's never any word or even a syllable or music note roaring "sad" but the clear sadness is just all over the place like the blood and bruises spread all over Randy's body after his match. I couldn't help but wonder, "What the hell happened during the 20 years in between?" "How come someone like that could end up being this guy?" Was he too overwhelmed with the loud fame to care any more about his families and life?
As quoted from anther movie, "Life is a single skip for joy", more or less there must be joyful moments in our life where hope and happiness have a genuine stay and we can actually feel them. But is that a way-out opportunity given by life or just another prick life throws on us? Randy had a moment with his daughter, his self-approved stripper girlfriend, and even his newly-established career as a happy meat seller. But that moment just fled away in a blink. Tragedy is due to revive itself and a character with that sense is doomed anyway, right?
You knew Randy would just go back to his doomed track of wrestling anyway but you still was hoping there was a slight chance he would not since life was already too harsh on him. Was he deserved? Maybe. I like the idea of having two characters with different yet similar back grounds comfort and warm each other. The shot impressed me that Pam, the stripper mum, hesitated for a moment standing between Randy and another customer who just insulted her by refusing her lap-dance offer. Yes, dignity, more or less, makes us human.
As I was thinking during the movie, the cruelty of life in one's late years just scared the shit of me. Life without any family, a proper job, a healthy body and lifestyle... Again, sadness is all over the place. In this sense, drama is way more scary than horror for it's nonfictional, and in this sense, life is more scary than a motion picture.
If not smashed by this film, at least a wake-up call is heard.
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