A cinematic Classic we'll be talking about 30 years from now

Rating: 10/10 (20 August 2010)

Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler is a no-holds-barred story about life in and out of the ring. A powerful story that transcends the sports entertainment and makes a powerful commentary about relationships and the human condition, The Wrestler is one of the great films of the 21st century.
The Wrestler tells the story of Randy "The Ram" Robinson a wrestling superstar in the 1980's. Twenty years later, he's a middle-aged man living out of a trailer in New Jersey and working at a supermarket packing boxes on weekdays and independent wrestling shows at V.F.W halls on the weekends. His life is a sad, lonely existence and outside of wrestling he has very little connection to anyone save for Cassidy, an aging stripper he's trying to court. His existence is working and scraping up enough money to pay his rent, tanning sessions, and steroids to maintain his wrestling career, working towards a participating in a match celebrating the 20th Anniversary between him and the Ayatollah, now a used car salesman. He's doing okay until a brutal hardcore match with Necro Butcher. In the aftermath of that match, Randy suffers a heart attack that changes his life.
Years of wear and tear in the ring and drug abuse have caught up with Randy. Told by his doctor he can no longer wrestle, he must figure out a new way to make a life. After begging his surly boss (a powerful contrast from the supportive wrestling promoters who beg him for work), He works at the deli counter at the Supermarket. It's a painful and powerful contrasting visual as he makes his entrance into the Supermarket deli counter, one that symbolizes Randy's entrance into the real world.
Taking Cassidy's advice and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter Stephanie. His efforts are rebuffed at first by Stephanie, but she does re-establish her connection with her father and promises to have dinner with her. However, when Cassidy rejects his advances and an opportunity at a serious relationship that night, Randy's world falls apart. Feeling lonely and hurt, Randy goes to a wrestling show to reconnect with wrestlers and wrestling fans, the only people he feels care about him, has and wild night with a female fan. As he returns home and falls asleep, he misses his dinner with Stephanie and she cuts him out of his life permanently. Recognized by a fan at the Deli counter and belittled by his boss, Randy not only quits his job, but gives up on life as well.
A man with nothing to lose and no connection to anyone or anything, Randy goes on to his final match with the Ayatollah. While Cassidy makes one last effort to reconnect Randy to the real world, he brushes her off. A hopeless and despondent Randy goes on to perform his last match with the Ayatollah. As the screen cuts to black before he comes off the top rope for the Ram Jam, the audience is left pondering if this is his last match or his last day living.
The Wrestler is a classic. I love the storytelling in this film; it gives us a brilliant insight into the wrestling business and how wrestling matches work. The writing in this film is reminiscent of Paddy Chayefsky and Rod Serling's early work, a social commentary about the human condition wrapped up in an entertaining story. Randy the Ram Robinson isn't just wrestling in the ring, he's a man wrestling with his own mortality and maintaining his connection to a world that has forgotten him. Outside of the ring he's a lost soul; we see how much the world that has passed him by in the scene where he's playing Nintendo with a young boy who talks about Call of Duty 4. It's like his entire world ended in 1985, from his clothes to the beat-up Dodge Ram Van he drives, he's a relic from another era trying to understand a world and people that have changed while he was grappling in the ring.
Director Darren Aronofsky's crafts a cinematic masterpiece filled with beautiful, moving visuals. Utilizing a pseudo-documentary style, Aronofsky's visuals give Randy's story grit, texture and a sense of realism. I didn't feel like I was watching a movie, I felt like I was watching real life transpiring in front of me. There are some shots that are incredibly powerful; the scenes with the old wrestlers at the convention in wheelchairs is one of the most moving pieces of film I've seen in years. We take for granted how much these athletes entertain us, and take no mind to what happens to them when they leave the ring.
The acting here is some of the best I've seen. Mickey Rourke gives the performance of his career in The Wrestler. This is Rourke's signature role, the one he will be known for generations to come. I feel he was ROBBED of an Oscar; Sean Penn needs to pack that statue and Fed Ex it to Rourke NOW. On screen Rourke disappears and becomes Randy "The Ram" Robinson. Evan Rachel Wood steals scenes as Rourke's Daughter Stephanie. Her emotions are so powerful in this film; I could feel her pain and hurt coming off the screen. I'm also wondering why she wasn't nominated for supporting actress Oscar; she was perfect in this film. Marisa Tomei is moving as Cassidy, she adds a graceful humanity to her character making us see the hardworking woman trying to make a living to take care of her family. Todd Barry Gives a solid supporting role As Wayne, the prickly supermarket manager.
The Wrestler is Shawn James Five-Star Essential DVD. It's a 21st Century Cinematic Classic; a film we'll be talking about for years to come like Sunset Boulevard and Marty, and The Hustler.