So Much More Than A Sports Film

Rating: 8/10 (4 February 2009)

Few films that have been made in recent years pack the emotional punch The Wrestler brings. Darren Aronofsky's deft direction assures that the emotion never feels strained, and that nearly every moment rings true. The maturity he shows in letting the actors take the center stage is surprising considering this is only his fourth film. The centerpieces of this film, though, are Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei, both of whom give brutally honest portrayals of two people hanging onto their dreams by a thread. Rourke delivers each line with such conviction that you soon forget he is playing a fictional character. You can see the hurt in his eyes as he is likely recalling his own tumultuous career. Not for one second does his performance ring false, and for that, he deserves the highest of praise. Tomei is very understated in a role that could have easily fallen to tired clichés, but she digs beneath Pam's good looks to find the fear she feels as she begins to enter a new phase in her life. The film has its problems; I wish it was about 10-20 minutes longer because I wanted to spend more time with Randy and Pam, and a few scenes feel slightly out of place, I call to mind the exchange between Randy and his daughter at the pier. Overall, The Wrestler is so much more than a sports film, it is an emotionally wrenching look at a man who doesn't know how to put the pieces of his life back together.