One of my pet peeves in the movie industry is potential award candidates waiting until the last minute to release their productions. What’s even more irritating is the movies that don’t even get a nationwide release until January, but based on an intentionally limited December release qualify for all the awards of that year. If you want to be considered for awards in 2008, you should make nationwide release in 2008 too. With that in mind I had plenty of reason to go into The Wrestler with negative inclinations.

I also had my doubts over Mickey Rourke. He hasn’t done much in recent times and his public image is something of a bizarre one, with his remanufactured face and his pimp like dress style. It didn’t take long however to throw all of that prejudice and doubt aside, and by the end of it I was convinced that it was the second best movie of the year (first is Slumdog Millionaire).  

I never had any doubts about director Darren Aronofsky. He’s gained a reputation as a highly creative director, producing great work with limited resources. Requiem for a Dream was a modern masterpiece, while π (Pi) and The Fountain have shown further proof of his talent. In The Wrestler, however, Aronofsky decides for the most part to keep it simple. Instead of trying to impress us with his creativity and imagination he opts instead to let his characters and their surroundings do all the talking. Many of the shots are filmed with a handheld camera that’s shakey and dizzying, creating the feel of a documentary but also an uneasiness about the story’s bleak feel.

The Wrestler is essentially, as its title might suggest, a character portrayal. It follows the life of Randy “The Ram” Robinson, an 80’s wrestling legend (think Hulk Hogan), who is struggling to make ends meet some 20 years later. He wrestles at small weekend events, something his body is struggling with and only endures through the aid of copious amounts of pain killers. While paying for his pills, booze, strippers, hairstylist and tanning sessions we also learn that “The Ram” frequently gets locked out of his own trailer home for his inconsistency with paying the rent. It’s an uneasy tale as Robinson is lost in his image, one that would have him perfectly content with life at his day job but repeatedly finding that his only sense of belonging is in front of the fans and among his fellow younger wrestlers who revere him. We accept our protagonist with ambivalent feelings. He’s the hero of the story, the ex-legend that we’re all supposed to sympathize with. He’s also the anti-hero as he’s really just the victim of his own poor decisions, lavish with his spending and ignorant over the existence of his estranged daughter.

In essence Robinson’s story is a parable for every middle aged man who finds himself trapped in a role he should have moved away from long since. The parable is enhanced by the parallel of Robinson’s love interest, a stripper (Marissa Tomei) who is having a hard time matching up to the younger members of the club. She’s learned to turn a deaf ear to the heckling clients and the humiliation of her circumstance, in order to raise the money she needs to get away from the game. Both characters are lost, both are trapped, both know that they are running out of options and time.

As a wrestler, Robinson still manages to put on a good show. The fights are faked, so he’s still able to continually fulfill his reputation. But his body is taking on more than it can handle. When Robinson suffers a bypass and is unable to fight, he realizes what he’s left with. Nothing: a stripper who won’t commit to him and a daughter who wants nothing to do with him. Mickey Rourke’s portrayal is exceptional throughout. Much as Stallone created the Rocky that we can so easily relate to, Rourke has created an equally convincing character. In many ways The Wrestler is a parody for Rourke himself whose acting career was in full bloom in the 80’s then withered away. He looks the part of a failed wrestler, but to leave it at that would be too convenient. Instead Rourke just seems to ignite an extra dimension of realism into Robinson. His emotive expression through his mouth and his eyes is captivating as is his pain induced heavy breathing. We can closely sense and feel all of his inner pains and struggles. I’ve never considered Rourke to be much more than an average actor, but in The Wrestler he  delivers an outstanding performance.

While it’s Rourke that makes the movie, Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood (as Robinson’s daughter) do turn in fine supporting performances. Elsewhere the movie is filled with lesser names and professional wrestlers that all bring an added authenticity. There are some entertaining wrestling sequences which show that while the moves are choreographed these guys really are hurting each other. We see both angles – the drama and the real physical pains. Wrestling is staged, the fighters talk to each other about what they’re going to do next, but there are some surprises too. In one scene “The Ram” removes a concealed razor blade to put a knick in his own forehead moments before his opponent slams him into the corner.


But the emphasis is never about the wrestling, it’s about the wrestler himself. Wrestling sequences are infrequent with the bulk of the story revolving around Robinson’s (real name Robin Ramzinsky) sad, lonely private life. If you love Rocky for what it does in the first 3/4ths of the movie you’ll love The Wrestler too. Where it differs greatly is in the final quarter and never falls into the temptation of glorifying the wrestling. The wrestling is not the main event, Robinson’s private life is. And that’s where Mickey Rourke and Darren Aronofsky deserve the greatest credit, creating an exceptional movie without ever compromising their intentions.


Verdict: 5 Stars – Essential viewing



Update: Mickey Rourke took the award for Best Actor at The Golden Globes last night while Bruce Springsteen's closing credits performance won Best Song. 

Recommended: Yes