Rourke's return ticket to Hollywood

Rating: 8/10 (31 January 2009)

Lets cut to the chase. The Wrestler is a 100% Micky Rourke movie. He is on screen for more than 95% of the movie. And Darren Aronofsky has shot the movie in a third person perspective. We are almost all the time following Rourke along. Its the story of a beaten down ex A-List Wrestler, a top entertainer. We have an inside look in the wrestling business. The pain that one has to endure, push their bodies to the limits, day in and day out, to earn a few hundred dollars.
Right from the first scene, we see Randy "The Ram" Robinson, hunched over after a gruelling night of wrestling, disappointed that his pay is less than usual. He goes to his worn down trailer to see that the owner of the trailer park has locked it up because he his late for his payments. We see him struggling through day jobs and weekend pay-per- views, and try and fix his relationship with his daughter. But like everything else his life starts going spiralling down. He collapses after a particularly brutal match and is diagnosed with a bypass surgery. After that we see, him getting frustrated at his life in general, he cant date the woman he loves, his daughter hates him and he cant wrestle. In the end he decides to come back to wrestle, come what may be the consequence, because as he puts it, "You(the fans) are my true and only family. And I will continue till the day my body goes on, and until you people stay I', done for good!"
The movie is not about a comeback, per se. Because, we really doesn't come back to his former glory, and its more of a symbolic gesture. But its got very good moral values. Micky Rourke is extraordinary, and he pulls together a stupendous performance, come awards functions, he will be a very strong contender for the Best Actor performance. This movie also gives us an insight to the wrestling business, and being a wrestling fan for many years, I have a biased view of the movie, but it still is awesome. You see how much of its real, and the pain that the professional wrestlers have to endure, their battering bodies. Its truly extraordinary. Marisa Tomei is also impressive in her role as the stripper who is a good friend of "The Ram". We see how their relationship evolves along the movie, her dilemma to get into a relationship with a "customer". Evan Rachael Wood is also good in her very small role as Randy's daughter. But like I said in the very beginning, this movie is all about Mickey Rourke, nobody else comes close to steal his glory at the end. A well deserved 8/10!