Review of The Wrestler (2008) by Brandon W — 05 Sep 2017

The Wrestler is directed by Darren Aronofsky, and it stars Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood in a sports drama about a wrestler that has been wrestling for a long time, and after a recent heart attack that almost killed him, Randy (Mickey Rourke) wanted to get his life back together, whether it be financial wise, and family.

With his next film mother! coming next week, I wanted to watch one of his films that I haven't reviewed, and with this being on my DirecTV list, I figure I should watch this and see how it is. Mickey Rourke is born to play this type of character as he's perfect as a wrestler that is very well known, has his signature moves, and is very likable with everybody, which I didn't know when watching the film that Mickey Rourke was actually a boxer at one time.

Marisa Tomei was very believable as a stripper that I think she's very much brace for showing the body bare while dancing very sensual for the people inside the strip club. I like the chemistry between Randy and Pam as it seems genuine and very odd as you wouldn't expect someone like those two to have a heart to heart conversation.

Even though Evan Rachel Wood isn't in it that much, she's still great in what's she in, and she has some emotional moments that are done well. The one main aspect that separates this from the other wrestling films, is that it focuses more on the characters than the fighting scenes.

Now there's no lack thereof for the fighting scenes as there are a few of them, they are enjoyable to watch that you're having just as much fun as the audience is, and you see how they do their own wrestling that while it's all the act, they have fun with it while doing some real good damage to each other.

This is basically a character-driven film with some wrestling aspects to it, and the writing by Robert D. Siegel, with maybe a few rewrites from the director and Mickey Rourke himself, is fantastic that brings it down to some actual human conversations that seem very laid back, but not in a boring way.

Even the direction by Darren Aronofsky is interesting in that this is different from the weird and creepy stuff that he has done before, and it really felt like I was watching a documentary about a fictional character that felt real to me.

The only time where it might be starting to become a movie is in the last 20 minutes of it, but it never seem to betray the documentary aspect as we understand why he's doing this, and the direction and writing still remain strong.

The Wrestler is probably my favorite wrestling film, and for me, one of Darren Aronofsky's best because the movie felt so human to me, which is what the best films should be to my personal taste in one of those aspects, and I think this is a masterpiece.