Glory days... they'll pass you by

Rating: 10/10 (19 February 2009)

A lot has already been said and written about "The Wrestler" and I really have nothing of novelty to add but I wholeheartedly agree with most reviewers who say this film is absolutely incredible in it's brutal honesty about a broken down man who's glory days are most certainly behind him. What's worst about it is that he has very little to show for it.
Rourke is quite simply amazing here and if you can talk about actors being born to play a part, well, this is one of those examples. You get the feeling he's reliving his life to some extent rather than portraying a character. Marisa Tomei shines here as well, displaying once again what a quality actress she is.
The movie stays with you long after it's ended. People make choices in life and "The Ram" made a clear cut choice; rather than care for and nurture those around him he wanted to follow his dream, and in the end, do the only thing he was ever really good at. To me, he is not a bad person, he's just a man who took the easy way out and ends up regretting it. He's a fragile human being, like all of us.
Possible spoiler
Salvation for him lies in his fans, who demand pain and blood for the sake of entertainment and he's more than willing to please, 'cause his only faith is in the broken bones and bruises he displays. At one point he says that he'll never stop until they tell him to. Which will never happen. There he finds his reason for living...and dying ultimately.
End of spoiler
"The Wrestler" is one powerful film and is not to be missed.
And yeah, I did steal that line from the Springsteen song. Amazing song as well, captures the character incredibly well with only a few verses.