Rourke brings his A-game to his role as a washed up former wrestling star in Darren Aronofsky's terrific "The Wrestler"

Rating: 8/10 (3 February 2009)

***1/2 (out of 4)
Watching Darren Aronofsky's new film, The Wrestler, it is hard to ignore the parallels between Mickey Rourke's character, Randy "The Ram" Robinson, and Rourke's personal life. Randy, whose real name is Robin Ramsinki, is a washed up former wrestling star. A self-proclaimed "old broken down piece of meat," Randy pumps his body full of steroids and takes hard beatings during poorly-attended small venue matches, while moonlighting at a grocery store. He is repeatedly locked out of his trailer for failing to pay his rent, and he hasn't seen his daughter in years.
Rourke, a former A-lister during the '80's, fell out of the game within a decade due to substance abuse and unpredictability on set. He briefly held a stint as a professional boxer and played bit parts in straight-to-video releases. In the 2000's, Rourke experienced a small resurgence as he played small rolls in films such as Once Upon A Time in Mexico, Sin City, and Domino. With The Wrestler, Rourke's makes his full come-back as a major performer; and what a damn fine performance it is.
Rourke brings a tremendous physicality to the role. His performance in the ring is incredibly disciplined and powerful. At one point he uses a hidden razor to cut his own forehead  a spectacle for the cheering crowd. According to a TV interview, Rourke insisted on actually cutting himself during the scene, foregoing any special effects. His performance outside the ring, though, is equally impressive. He expertly enacts an emotionally complex role, the disparity manifested on his worn features. You can't help but feel sorry for the guy.
Randy, in life, is painfully alone. Though he seems to know everyone in the wrestling crowd, you get the feeling that nobody knows him at all; talking to former champion Randy "The Ram," rather than Randy, the person. He lives alone in a worn-down trailer, re-enacting his glory days on an old Nintendo wrestling game. When he suffers a heart attack, after an intensely brutal match, a doctor essentially informs him that his wrestling days are over.
Randy's only real relationship is with a stripper whose real name is Pam, but who performs under the name Cassidy (superbly played by Marisa Tomei); and this relationship may not be as genuine as he would hope. Though Randy is clearly more than just another customer to her, he pays for his lap dances just like everyone else. It is Cassidy who suggests that he get in contact with his estranged daughter.
Perhaps appropriately, (but unfortunately) for a film interested in the "fake" sport of wrestling, Randy's relationship with his daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) sometimes rings false. Though Wood is a very fine actor and does the most with her part, the attempted reconciliation is rushed, clichéd and, at worst, melodramatic. This small flaw is forgivable though, as Robert D. Siegal's script, Aronofsky's direction, and Rourke and Tomei's performances are so exceptional.
Darren Aronofsky, the man responsible for 2000's triumph, Requiem for a Dream, but also the 2006 flop, The Fountain, proves himself as more than a one-trick pony with The Wrestler. The film is gritty, and possesses a realism that feels almost like a fly-on-the-wall documentary. The small touches he brings  including an extraordinary scene in which Randy, traveling to the deli counter at his new job, hears the increasingly present roars of an imaginary crowd cheering him on  assert an individuality that is very much welcome. On his A-game, Aronofsky proves himself as one of America's most talented young directors. We will wait eagerly to see what he comes up with next.