Randy lives up to his hype, the Wrestler doesn't...

Rating: 6/10 (28 March 2011)

The Wrestler is a drama about an old wrestling star, Randy the Ram, that once upon a time was one of the great, that nowadays travels and performs at small local wrestling events, living of his old fame. He is constantly strapped for cash, and fills out his paycheck with smalltime work at the local supermarket. But there might be change on the horizon, it is soon the 20th anniversary of one of his classical fights, and a rematch might give him a last chance to be in the spotlight. But a heart attack puts everything in perspective, and jeopardy. Randy struggles to reconnect with his estranged daughter and connect with a local stripper he is fond of.
It is a slow, quite sad story that is told in Wrestler. The performances of the cast is good, and the characters seem well written with good depth, even though most of them are not explored very much. But even though Randy, the main character, is a good hearted, kind man that means well but not always succeeds to do good, I fail to really connect, to sympathize with him. Ironically enough I found it easier to sympathize with Bad Blake in Crazy Heart, a movie with a theme very much alike the Wrestler. One reason might be that the Wrestler is very much focused on Randy, compared to Crazy Heart that has much stronger supporting characters.
The Wrestler is a good movie, but it doesn't quite live up to its own hype. It did mark a kind of return for Mickey Rourke, and he does his role very well. But it is not really enough to carry and lift the movie to any greater heights, I'm sorry to say.
6/10