Great acting but the film is disappointing and over-hyped

Rating: 7/10 (20 January 2009)

With all the hype surrounding the film and Mickey Rourke's performance I was really looking forward to seeing 'The Wrestler'. But, it happened again. An much-hyped film failed to deliver and left me feeling disappointed.
The strengths of the film all lie in the performances. Rourke deserved his Golden Globe win and deserves an Academy Award nomination. Marisa Tomei is fantastic, as ever. She really has to be one of the bravest mainstream actresses around. Evan Rachel Wood is also good, as are all the minor characters.
So no complaints at all with the acting. It's with the script and direction that the film disappoints.
While the script has the narrative arc of a classic tragedy and is fairly easy to predict it just doesn't have enough pathos to allow us to be moved and surprised by what unfolds. Basically I just didn't like the characters enough to really care about their fate.
The film has the feel of movie-making by numbers.
The "fallen hero" has a life changing experience that brings him near to some sort of redemption but is then finally brought down by the personal failings that have determined the pattern of his life.
It was all handled just a bit too crudely for my taste. Randy 'The Ram' Robinson was just a little too self-pitying. Cassidy/Pam was just a little too much the working girl with a heart of gold.
Just a little more finesse would have made this a truly great film. As it is, however, The Wrestler' is fatally flawed, just like Randy 'The Ram' Robinson.