Intense portrayal, very raw

Rating: 8/10 (10 December 2014)

"Raw" is probably one of the best adjectives to describe this movie and how Mickey Rourke as the central character, a washed-up wrestler, fights his very personal demons in this excellent portrayal of solitude. I could not imagine anybody more suitable for the part than Rourke. Great choice from Aronofsky picking him as Randy "The Ram" Robinson. Marisa Tomei (scored an Oscar nomination) and Evan Rachel Wood do a nice job with their roles as well and it was truly heartbreaking when Wood's character tells The Ram that she does not ever want to see him again. Tomei's character near the end seems the only way out of the misery for The Ram, but he chooses what he did all his life with probably tragic consequences. Mark Margolis plays a small part too and "Breaking Bad" fans will like it. Also we get to see Judah Friedlander from "30 Rock" in a totally different role.
Darren Aronofsky managed to get Rourke close to the Oscar for his portrayal here. It was a neck-and-neck race until the very end when Rourke lost the Oscar to Sean Penn's excellent portrayal of Harvey Milk. Aronofsky proved himself as an actor's director again. He got Portman the Oscar not much later and got a great performance out of Ellen Burstyn in "Requiem for a Dream" earlier in his career. Nice contrast between "The Wrestler" and "Black Swan" in terms of male vs. female sport professions. Robert D. Siegel wrote "The Wrestler" and there is some contrast with him too as he is mostly known for his work in terms of writing comedy and animation movies.
The whole film is narrated as if it was a documentary. It's a very intimate portrayal and this is one of the biggest strengths of the movie. Even if you cannot identify with the main character and oppose his actions, you still somehow develop a connection with him and his quest for happiness. At least I did. The refrigerated display case scenes with Rourke were among my favorites from the whole movie as they described Robinson's character so in detail. He is a volcano that can erupt any second positively or negatively, but when he does, it's huge.
Aside from The Ram's personal story, the film also gives great insight into the world of professional wrestling. Nothing we see in the ring is real. We witness how those who seem like the biggest foes in the ring are actually almost good friends who really care about the other's health and just want to come up with a good show for the audience. When Rourke's character talks about Bob (The Ayatollah), it's almost funny, because it is so different and normal compared to what people see happen in the ring, such as using a staple gun to harm your enemy. These scenes were actually quite graphic, so look away for a second if you struggle with violence in movies. But don't miss this film because of that. It would be quite a loss.