Everything Looks So Real, No Obvious Acting

Rating: 6/10 (7 February 2009)

"The Wrestler" follows the life of Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a legendary pro wrestler who was well-liked and famous as he has his own action figure and video game. However, he is now past his prime, almost over his hill, and dealing with big problems about his personal life and his health.
This film is almost a documentary. A lot of times it just shows Randy doing a lot of daily stuff around his camper, his gym, his wrestling arenas, his favorite strip joint, his meat counter in the supermarket, etc. Yet in all this realism, there is something riveting and touching about the whole thing.
The story is actually very predictable and simple. You can foresee the inevitable plot development and even the ending. It seems like you have seen it all before, but set somewhere else. But somehow it does not matter. Plot is secondary to character study in this movie. I liked how Randy's speech at the end wrapped up what the movie was all about. I also liked how the whole movie ended.
This film also shows the world behind the noisy show that is Professional Wrestling -- the surprising camaraderie and good will among the wrestlers, the drugs, the techniques to make the "performance" realistic, the groupies, etc. Very interesting even for non-wrestling fans. However, some wrestling sequences really go over the top bloody, especially the one with the staple gun.
Technically, the whole film is as rough as the world it depicts. The sets, the costumes, the language of the script are all so unpolished, cheap and even trashy. The cinematography is gritty, grainy and shaky, as to lend a very realistic feel to the whole project. You can see "indie" written all over it.
One of the women in The Ram's life is his estranged daughter Stephanie (played by Evan Rachel Wood). This character is sort of the weak link in this movie for me. We understand she is all so angry with her father for abandoning her in the past. But one time, she gave her dad a chance, and they had a good bonding time. Yet when he shows up late for their dinner date, I felt her reaction was a bit extreme! (Of course, we don't really know how deep the previous wounds had been.) All fathers in the audience must have felt a pang in their hearts during that sharply-worded scene.
The other woman in his life is Cassidy, Randy's favorite stripper. Marisa Tomei goes all out daring for this electric performance. No conservative camera angles or strategic objects hiding anything. She looks great in this movie, and so does her body! I do not remember any previous film that featured her body so generously before. Her acting is understated and very sensitive. It looked very natural for a role that is so far from how I knew her to be. For this, she was rewarded with a well-deserved Best Supporting Actress nomination by the Academy.
But the main man Mickey Rourke IS The Ram. The line between actor and character is definitely blurry here. There seems to be no distinction at all. The actor does not look a thing like his "9 1/2 Weeks" heyday anymore. You cannot recognize this man to be an actor playing a role. He is clearly living this part. It is as if no obvious acting being done. He was repulsive, disgusting and pathetic, yet he can still manage to evoke sympathy and project dignity. Rourke's amazingly real portrayal of "The Ram" is certainly the centerpiece around which the whole film hinges its Awards credibility.