A Good Movie But IMDb ratings have gone crazy!

Rating: 9/10 (6 May 2009)

Let me start out my comment on The Wrestler by saying that it is a very good movie and is one of the best movies in recent times. I am going to devote a certain amount of my time trying to tell you on what I think about the IMDb rating system which might convey a message to the people that I have a negative opinion about this movie, so let me make it clear right in the beginning itself. I like this movie and I think it is a great movie with some really good directing, acting and scripting.
This movie is about a wrestler and his life. The movie draws a wonderful comparative analysis between the life of a wrestler and the life of a strip dancer. I have always wondered about what precisely was the difference between a strip dancer or a prostitute and the wrestlers. Both, at the end of the day, are drawing money for a living by doing something with their bodies. This movie resonated with me in the sense that it shows that parallel really well. Towards the end of the day, there remains no difference between the two, both are using their bodies, though in different ways in order earn their living. But then again, the comparison is only a small component of the movie.
The movie centers around the life of "The Ram", a professional wrestler, his life and his passion for wrestling. The movie is a reelistic movie. At no point, do we see something that is exaggerated or something. And of course the movie is an eye opener for some of the people who still think that Professional Wrestling is a real deal and it is also an eye opener for the other extreme bunch of people who think that wrestlers are complete fake. There is an intermediate view that one needs to understand about this industry. The results and the events are scripted, no doubt about that but the pain and the punishment are real. You are live in front of a thousand plus audience and there is no way that you can fake blood oozing out of your body due to a pack of nails stuck in it in front of them. They are trained to bear that pain and they bear it to earn their living.
I must tell you though that there is nothing this movie does which makes it stand apart as one of the greatest films in the history of cinema. So, how does this movie come out in the Top 250 of the IMDb list. The answer is simple. The formula used by the IMDb to calculate the eventual rating does indeed depend on the number of votes that movie has got. And so you shall see that the user base has expanded in recent times and that user base has given full energy in voting for the newer movies and thus you will find the newer movies finding top spots at the cost of older movies who people might not have seen at all. Simply said, there is nothing great about the movie The Wrestler in my opinion which gives it to be in league of the great movies of all times. That is an inherent problem with the public vote and rating system employed here.
Coming back to the movie, the direction is great. It shows the life of wrestling entertainment professionals quite well. The overall scripting has a quality of being identifiable with. No poetic dialog and no clean script. The language is that of a commoner and hence makes it great. The lead actor Mickey does a wonderful job with his role. He is a very likable character. Overall, this movie is a must-watch and even a bigger must-watch for the fans of professional wrestling.