The perils of living in the past

Rating: 9/10 (27 January 2009)

Randy "the Ram" Robinson is stuck in the past. He was a wrestling idol in the 80s, but now spends his weekends in the small 'indie' wrestling circuits trying to relive his glory days, and scraping by on weekdays as a strong back at the local Acme grocery store loading dock where he is brow beaten and humiliated by a hateful mouse of a boss. Although he seems to still have adulation in the tight circles of wrestling, and some of the neighborhood kids, there aren't any real relationships in his life. His better days are way behind him, but he doesn't care, he just want to keep wrestling. After one particularly brutal match, he has near fatal heart attack.
After his heart attack, he attempts to establish a 'real' relationship with a stripper named Cassidy (actually Pam in her "real life") played by Marissa Tomie. Cassidy, like Randy, also operates in the margins of society and has seen better days. As an aging stripper, she struggles to sell table dances, and is often mistreated by the clientele. Unlike Randy, however, she makes a separation between her stage persona, and her real life as a mother. She even seems to have plans to leave stripping behind. His awkward charm almost wins her over. But we can tell she's smarter than that. This is a woman that's been hurt too many times in life, and her defense mechanisms need to work right if she wants to protect her son and get them to a better life. Some may view her as a cold and calculating bitch, but as we sit back and observe her, we see the human being beating inside the tough exterior. The ending scene shows just how human she is. And how sometimes, despite your best efforts and intentions, you're just a little too late to save some people.
After his heart attack, Randy also tries to re-establish his relationship with his estranged daughter. Their meetings provide some of the movies most poignant scenes. Their initial meeting doesn't go well. We can't blame her for her bitterness and anger. He was, after all a lousy parent. But Randy persists, and in a powerful scene by the beach, they seem to start on their road to reconciliation. There is a brief scene where she takes his arm as they walk, indicating her forgiveness. It almost brought me to tears. Beauty can sometimes be found in subtlety. His final meeting with his daughter is especially heart wrenching. It seems like he's finally turning a corner. He's earned our affection, and we want his redemption. But his old flaws resurface, and redemption slips away.
Initially, it seems that Randy continues to wrestle because he loves it so much. But as we watch the character flesh out, we recognized him in some of the people we've probably known in our lives. The old star athletes, or performers (actors and such) who can't get past their glory days. They can't move on with their lives and can't accomplish much else, because they are stuck in the past. Most would come to classify their kind as 'losers'. Randy seems to fit the bill. Unfortunate because despite his flaws, he has a big generous heart. He may be a 'loser', but he's still a 'good guy'. That's why Randy, and others like him are walking tragedies. This is not to say that nostalgia is a bad thing, but there is a difference between missing the past, and an insistence on re-living it. Poor Randy never moved on. I don't think it was his love of the ring as much as his love of the adulation and acceptance he felt in his past. His final heartbreaking words to Cassidy near the end of the movie verify this. This seems to be the heart of the movie.
The 'Wrestler' is a work of art. We need more movies like this to prove that great films can be made on a budget. The editing is lean enough so that it keeps the story-telling moving at a brisk pace. The Cinematography is appropriately grainy and downbeat with muted colors. The script is full of character details so that even brief supporting roles feel like flesh and blood. Mickey Rourke's performance was so good, I completely forgot that I was observing an actor. Marissa Tomei also holds her own with an excellent performance.
******Spoiler Alert******
Regarding some of the complaints about the 'open ending': Personally, I thought the ending was poetic. The tight shot of him taking that final leap from the ropes, as it leaving this world into another, and then a slow fade to black, was breathtaking. No, it didn't spell out his fate, but you can pretty much guess the outcome based on the story's and character's arc. Besides, focusing on the ending, is missing the point of the movie.
The past may have been great, but it's gone, so move on and evolve. Take care of your loved ones while you have a chance now. And there is always tomorrow.