Back in the late 80s, Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a headlining professional wrestler. Now, twenty years later, he ekes out a living performing for handfuls of die-hard wrestling fans in high school gyms and community centres around New Jersey.
Estranged from his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and unable to sustain any real relationships, Randy lives for the thrill of the show and the adoration of his fans. However, a heart attack forces him into retirement. As his sense of identity starts to slip away, he begins to evaluate the state of his life - trying to reconnect with his daughter, and strikes up a blossoming romance with an aging stripper (Marisa Tomei). Yet all this cannot compare to the allure of the ring and passion for his art, which threatens to pull Randy "The Ram" back into his world of wrestling.
Special Agent Matti
This film is something like a documentary about how I feel when I get up in the morning. Randy "The Ram" Robinson moves like he's been put in a sack and thrown off the Empire State Building, and I don't mean that in a good way. Everything hurts, nothing moves the way it's supposed to, all the joy has been sucked out of life and there's nothing to do but crawl your way to the big wrestling ring in the sky. If they'll have you.
Most of the time that I was watching The wrestler, however, my eyes were glued to Mickey Rourke's face: it's the perfect image of cosmetic surgery gone wrong. Where Michael Jackson has been hacking away at his face with a circular saw, Mickey Rourke has been doing home renovations on the weekends. It's hideous, worth watching on the big screen for the shock/horror value alone. Robert Siegel's screenplay is no great surprise but Darren Aronofsky brings the perfect mix of dramatic narrative and documentary cinematography to the film. It's like seeing footage of a train wreck as recorded by a passing TV news crew. You won't like The wrestler but you will appreciate your life after you've seen it.
The drama, sport movie The wrestler is directed by Darren Aronofsky and stars Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood.
MA 15+ (Strong violence, drug use and sex scene; coarse language)
109 minutes (1:49 hours)
Film: 15 January 2009
