The Wrestler is Mickey Rourke's Show, From Start to Finish.

Rating: Null/10 (12 October 2013)

Filmed like a documentary, elegantly blending art n entertainment & taken to a whole new level by Mickey Rourke's career-resurrecting performance, The Wrestler is a wonderful testament to the incredible sacrifices so many professional athletes continue to make on a daily basis just for the sake of entertaining us, and is one of the best films of its year & Aronofsky's career.
The story of The Wrestler concerns Randy 'The Ram' Robinson; a washed-up professional wrestler who continues to cling on to his career despite his failing health with the hope of reliving the glory of his prime days. But when his condition worsens, he tries to settle with an alternate career outside the ring only to struggle with it & also attempts to mend his relationship with his estranged daughter.
Darren Aronofsky's direction is very impressive, screenplay is always focused on its lead character, cinematography & editing are in stealth mode compared to his previous features, fight choreography is excellent, Mansell's music doesn't have much of a presence this time yet is still effective in small doses but frankly, it's the performances that are the strongest aspects of this feature.
Presenting a fascinating cast in Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei & Evan Rachel Wood, it's Rourke who dominates the screen with a powerfully affecting performance that's as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking. Fusing elements of his own life with his on-screen persona, the sadness & emptiness he's able to bring into his work is absolutely mind-blowing and the film is totally his show from start to finish.
On an overall scale, covering the themes of passion, obsession, regret, sorrow, emptiness & redemption, The Wrestler is another effective drama from Darren Aronofsky that is a reflection of Mickey Rourke's own life brought alive on-screen. Being a wrestling fan myself who grew up enjoying the greatest era of WWE (Attitude Era, of course), The Wrestler is somewhat special for not just in wrestling fans around the world but also the wrestlers we grew up cheering for.