Review of The Wrestler (1984) by Matt C — 14 Feb 2014

Mickey Rourke is utterly convincing as an aging professional wrestler in this drama that feels like a documentary or reality TV show. 20 years after his glory days, Randy "The Ram" Robinson is just barely making ends meet by stocking shelves in a supermarket by day and wrestling in high school gyms and community centres at night against other D-list wrestlers.

Rourke inhabits Randy's character in a way very few actors have ever done. Combined with a mostly hand-held camera that follows Randy through his life. Just as he sets out on a comeback trail leading up to a big reunion fight with his old arch-nemesis, Randy suffers a heart attack that puts everything on hold. Randy tries to accept it gracefully, taking on more hours at the grocery store and re-connecting with a daughter he'd pretty much abandoned years ago. You root for him; you want him to turn his life around. But old habits die hard. Randy means well but can't quite take that final step out of the limelight. In the last act of the movie, he decides to go for that one last comeback performance, just weeks after open-heart surgery. The film builds a beautiful sense of dread as you hope he comes to his senses but fear that he won't.

Gritty, realistic, and totally absorbing, this movie is magnificent.