Makes up for "The Fountain"

Rating: Null/10 (15 December 2008)

Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" is something of a miracle considering it is by the same filmmaker who brought the self absorbed disaster "The Fountain" to theaters two years ago. The differences between "The Wrestler" and that film are so many that if one didn't know who directed both films, you'd think they were made by two different people.
"The Wrestler" follows a washed up performer, played and lived by Mickey Rourke, as he tries to reclaim his title as the greatest wrestler in the business. Fighting old age, sore muscles as well as hearing and sight problems, Rourke's character continues to subject himself to the human cockfighting that is performed in elementary schools on Saturday afternoons. The character (known here as Randy "The Ram" Robinson) is the the perfect role for Rourke, and it would be hard to imagine anyone else (specifically Nicolas Cage, who was briefly involved with this project) playing Ram with such depth and heartache.
What really stands out about this film, aside from Rourke's performance, is the care that Aronofsky takes to throw in details about the business that only a true die hard wrestling fan would know. Details such as the men prepping for their matches, and spouting off lingo like, "Let's bring it on home" to signal the ending of a fight help bring a certain authenticity to the film. The other thing that Aronofsky does is that he takes a close, critical look at an American subculture, which allows the audience to wonder just why exactly do we love this so much? The fans in the ring cheer as men beat themselves up for our amusement. We know it's not real but we cheer anyway. Not only that, but why is this 'sport' so viscerally exciting to watch? What is it about grown, sometimes old, men in tights leaping around on a mat so entertaining?
Ultimately, "The Wrestler" comes to criticize the business not only because of it's odd attraction that people have towards it, but also because of the way it treats the men who give up their lives for it.