A moving and insightful drama

Rating: 8/10 (19 January 2011)

An excellent film with outstanding performances from Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood.
In essence, this film is a reflection of working life as it really is for the masses - i.e. work for low pay until you die and/or until you are too old to enjoy life, and while doing so neglect the important things in life like developing and maintaining relationships with family and friends.
It all sounds a bit corny but the story of Randy "the Ram" Robinson is not that different from many people in jobs they hate but have to do either for money or because they can't let go of the only thing they really know and feel part of. It sounds quite sad and The Wrestler is indeed a fairly sad film.
Though sadness for Rourke's Randy might be forthcoming, the real sadness is for the two women in his life - Marisa Tomei - the would be girlfriend who works as a stripper/dancer but is a single mother trying to balance her double life - professionally a sexy dancer and privately a mother just trying to escape the sleaze of her profession. She sees Randy as a man she could maybe feel for and in the end she does care for him unlike his daughter Evan Rachel Wood who has been let down once too many times to care any more for her father.
Where The Wrestler really works is in the intimate direction and pacey storyline. There is no flab in this movie except around the waistlines of some of the musclebound mountain men wrestlers. It's very well done with steady cam shots and sure editing. The story and characters quickly hook us and though the wrestling scenes are a bit too graphically gory, it's a journey we have to go through to fully understand the man and his motives.
Though the film plays on pathos and is quite brutal (and not just the wrestling scenes)The Wrestler does have some very funny moments and a good tight script. It's a very watchable movie and in some ways enjoyable. The underpinning theme of loneliness is woven around each of the three key characters and in the end you'll probably want to be better to those around you and maybe contact those you've neglected for a while.
I don't often like sporting movies but The Wrestler is one that has to be one of the best sporting movies ever made as it gives a real insight into the sport/entertainment industry. It's certainly worth watching for Rourke's outstanding performance.