The Wrestler (2008)

"I don't hear as good as I used to, and I ain't as pretty as I used to be. But I'm still here, I'm the Ram."


Darren Arononfsky is one of the most intuitive and original film directors of his generation yet most people have probably never heard of him. Both Requiem For A Dream and The Fountain, two of his earlier works have, in my opinion, the potential to be consider masterpieces of cinema in years to come and the term 'masterpiece' is not a term that I use often or loosely. These two mentioned above are not household name film, especially the latter. Requiem deals with the sensitive subject of drug abuse amongst other traumatic subject matters in quite an extreme and at times rather depressing way and The Fountain, a firm favourite of mine, is heavy on symbolism and requires much work to fully understand it. The Wrestler on the other hand, is a much more 'people friendly' type of film and due to the Oscar buzz that it received is a film I suspect most people will have taken notice of in 2008. But in no shape or form does this mean Aronofsky is selling out. The Wrestler is just a different type of film, requiring a different type of mood and the documentary style feel that it has is perfect.

Mickey Rourke plays an aging wrestler, Randy 'The Ram' Robinson, whose glory days are past him but he still wrestles part time in smaller venues. He still gets the adoration of the fans and is highly respected by his fellow professionals but despite this Randy, who is separated from his wife, is depicted as quite a lonely man. He frequently visits a strip club where he has struck up a friendship with one of the women, Pam/Cassidy (Marisa Tomei) who works there but she is reluctant to get involved with a paying customer. Randy's aging body is struggling to cope with the demands of wrestling which regularly causes him to suffer wounds and after one particular hardcore bout in which he receives numerous minor injuries after being attacked with staple guns, barbed wire and glass Randy suffers a heart attack in the locker room. This near death experience causes Randy to realise that he is getting older, his bodily more fragile and that he can no longer keep living in the time warp that is the glory days of his past. After being warned by the doctor that continuing to wrestler may end his life, he retires from the ring (cancelling his 20th anniversary match against Ayatollah in the process) and attempts to make it up to his daughter after alienating her for years, continues to meet Pam the stripper in an attempt to garner more than just her advantages as a stripper and takes a job working behind a deli counter, much to his displeasure. After being recognised at the deli counter Randy realises he is in the wrong job and quits in a rather violent fashion and reschedules the 20th anniversary match much to Pam's displeasure who finally realises Randy is more than just a paying customer. He goes ahead with the fight but is clearly suffering from angina and as he goes to finish Ayatollah off with his signature 'Ram Jam' headbutt the camera blacks outs leaving us to wonder if he has died or not.


It is quite bizarre to think that a film that features the 'sport' of wrestling has garnered such positive acclaim by critics. But in truth, this is a film that has much more depth than simply being about wrestling. Sure, wrestling fans will drool over this but The Wrestler is a film that can easily be enjoyed by non-fans too. Wrestling just asks as the shell to a film that really is about the realisation of overlooking stardom in search for emotional comfort. Randy is a performer but he is also a person who has let his fame cut off all the ties to people he cared for. The fans adore him and he respects that but as his career takes it's toll on his body he realises he needs more. Ultimately however, he realises that he has little, no love in his life and a daughter who no longer cares, he is compelled to return to the ring, to the cheers of the crowd, which he realises is the only good thing in his life but it is the one thing that ultimately finishes him off.

Simply put, Mickey Rourke produces one of the most believable performances of the 2000's. The role of Randy felt like it was made for Rourke so much so that at times I forgot I was watching a ficticious picture and instead I thought it was a biographical documentary before my eyes. I genuinely believed in the character and for this to be the case is quite an achievement. It has been a long, long time since I cared about the happenings of a film character as much as I cared for Randy. There was a connection to be had between the viewer and Rand, he represented anyone who has ever felt loneliness, regret and emotional need. Rourke does a dazzling job of portraying very simple human fears that we all feel at some point in our lives. I haven't seen many of Rourke's films but this must surely be his best performance to date. Sean Penn's performance in Milk must have been mind blowing to deserve the Oscar nod he got over Rourke although I sense Rourke may have been robbed.

Hopefully this popular picture will open movie goers eyes to the other works of Aronofsky which although are not as easy to digest as The Wrestler is, are certainly just as rewarding, if not more so, than this excellent film.

Rating: 9/10 - highly recommended.