Use my leg

Rating: 6/10 (21 January 2009)

There are two stories here, one involves the film and the other is about the director.
Micky Rourke totally owns, as the faded wrestler. And for that reason, the film is a remarkable if linear tale of belief over reality. There is memory of yesteryear, and then there is Rourkes "broken down piece of meat" body.
You will not feel changed after the film, because Rourke lives it for you. No message is put across, because Rourke learns nothing. Except a few extra uses for office supplies and prosthetic appendages.
But what of the director of Pi, Requim for a Dream and The Fountain? Darren Aronofsky seems to have an eye for the fated path, and maybe for metamorphosis. Beyond that, this is a talented director with a few interesting projects coming up. I'm not sure The Wrestler really advances him too far, apart from his Tarantino like rediscovery of a former favourite.