An emerging classic

Rating: 7/10 (5 December 2011)

The Wrestler features the best performance since Charlize Theron played serial killer Aileen Wuornos. To say the performance is the movie is both a praise and a pretty comprehensive summary of the plot which largely follows Rourke's Randy "The Ramâ? Robinson as he navigates the tawdry remains of his superstar wrestling career which peaks some 20 years past. There is a subplot with his estranged daughter which is brief and leads nowhere as does largely his wooing of Pam/Cassidy a single mother and stripper whom The Ram frequents. This single story arc through is interesting although ultimately Randy progresses little emotionally. The ending of the movie is a Bruce Springsteen song, fitting given the the gritty Industrial North Jersey setting and story of washed-up fame.