Gracefully sad

Rating: 8/10 (2 December 2009)

Quite honestly, I don't get all the criticism...
The Wrestler isn't supposed to be your typical "from riches to rags to riches again" Hollywood feel-good movie you rent for a cozy night at home.
The Ram is NOT Rocky, or at least not the cheesy Rocky from the second movie onwards.
Randy Robinson is indeed a washed-up wrestling superstar who has seen his star rise and fade away, without being able to prepare himself for the "retirement". So he's broke and broken, works in a grocery and still accepts independent booking, for those who still remember him.
His life is a sad and constant trip down memory lane, with little hope. Not even the newfound bond with a stripper and the booking for a nostalgia rematch won't turn the tide.
"Nothing happens" because for a man like Randy nothing could happen in real life. Despite that, he still refuses to give up, because he can't and because he doesn't want. And when he realizes he's close to the end of the rope, he embraces his fate.
Rourke was the ideal actor for such a character, in some sort of "reality meets fiction" capacity. And surely he delivered, to the point you often struggle to separate Randy from Mickey. Marisa Tomei works fine too, with a relatively easy and plain role.
The Wrestler isn't a cheap comedy about a difficult but glorious comeback, it isn't even a sappy drama where everything goes wrong for the sake of tearjerking.
The Wrestler is a graceful depiction of how a man can end up being a failure, but a failure with dignity.
Randy Robinson is a tragic character and a titanic figure: a man who succumbs to his destiny because he has no other choice, but goes out with his head up.