Review of The Wrestler (2008) by Vincent C — 02 Sep 2011

I've put off watching "The Wrestler", until now that is, for several reasons and now I wish I really hadn't. Even though I consider myself a fan of Darren Aronofsky I've never really liked Mickey Rourke, nothing against the guy I've just never been a fan. Also, I'm not into wrestling at all so the film never appealed to me to begin with. However, after watching every other Aronofsky film and loving all of them except "Pi", which I still liked, I figured it was time to watch "The Wrestler". At first it took me quite a while to get past the documentary style camera work that is present in the film but once I did I loved it. The story was engaging right from the start and I found myself caring about Randy "The Ram" Robinson. Rourke gives a tremendous performance and deserved every bit of praise he got.

Perhaps the best thing about this film is that even if you're not a fan of wrestling you can still enjoy this film because of the touching story. It's about a man's struggle to try and piece together his life outside of wrestling. He tries desperately to gain his daughter's approval after being an absent father for most of her life. I think that was the most emotional part for me. It warmed my heart to see a father try to re-connect with his daughter. Evan Rachel Wood does a stellar job as the daughter and both her and Rourke made every scene work. On top of trying to get his daughter's love back Randy also wants to a have a meaningful relationship with someone so that he won't be lonely anymore. He sees the stripper Cassidy, played marvelously by Marisa Tomei, as his one chance.

Early on in the film Randy suffers a heart attack and is informed he can't wrestle anymore. This is the worst news because he needs wrestling. He needs wrestling for two things: it's what he's best and where he is truly adore and because he needs the money. Once he can't wrestle anymore he starts working weekends at a delhi. At first it is amusing to him, but soon he becomes annoyed by the customers and cannot stand it anymore. He knows that wrestling is the only thing he is good at and the only place where he is loved. "The Wreslter" is a beautiful and heartbreaking film, and although it isn't my favorite Aronofsky film I would say it's probably his best and most complete work. Everyone involved gives a remarkable performance that really elevated the film to a new level entirely. "The Wrestler" is easily one of the best films of 2008 and showed how great of a director Aronofsky truly is.