Not quite the WWE

Rating: 8/10 (29 August 2013)

After the catastrophe that was the Fountain. Giving Darren Aronofsky the one two punch of having boomed in the box office and being universally panned by critics, it seemed Darren's Hollywood career was down for the three count – but all was not lots, it seemed the heavens had parted, and the film gods had bestowed upon him a saving grace in the form of an almost a fly on the war documentary-esk poignant exploration into the very real and not so glamorous side of professional wrestling, consumed with obsessions, addiction, loneliness and depression, almost a world apart from the allure and intoxicating magnetism of the bright lights of the world famous WWE.
Playing the title main character and also making his way back from the Hollywood grave yard, from a short spell and mild success in professional boxing, Mickey Rourke (staring most recently in Iron Man 2 and The Expendables) was built for this role as his character was coming to the end of this career battered and bruised, which is exactly what Rourke went through in the twilight years of his professional boxing, and with this firsthand experience pays dividends in his breathtaking and occasionally poetic performance as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, who can't quite give up life as a professional wrestler, even though long as gone; the thousands of fans, the money, the women and his health. What is now left behind is a; two inch shorter man living in a trailer, which he struggles to pay for with the little money he earns from the shifts he has to almost beg for at the local supermarket, and where the manager takes every opportunity to put him down and make another stupid wrestling joke. Even his wrestling career is not what it used to be, instead of a sell out crowd in Madison square garden's, is now a crowd of just under a thousand in a high school gymnasium. You would think the guy would quit, but he's love that sometimes borders on the side of obsession for wrestling, keeps him going - that and the fact he is too scared to face the real world. But luckily for him he is given a new lease of life when he is given the opportunity of a lifetime to recapture past glories when he is offered a rematch with the Ayatollah, who at the high of his fame, fought years ago in the 1980'S . But standing in his way is; a heart attack, a daughter that hates him in the shape of Evan Rachel Wood (The Ides of March ) and a stripper slash love interest in Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny and In the Bedroom) who wants him to quit the business before it gets him killed.
I personally felt the director captures magnificently the juxtaposition of emotions that a wrestler can go through in matter of milliseconds, from one point having the feeling that they are on top of the word filled with the euphoria of a deep sense of belonging as hundreds and thousands of people scream your n name, then after the count of three and the sound of the bell, the sense of belonging almost seems to despair as right after the match the wrestler return to their solitary and lonely existence. These polar opposites are conveyed perfectly in the opening few scenes, as we start in the midst of a high profile match, seeing montage of pictures of randy on top of the world with fans screaming for more, to a few scenes later where he returns to his trailer park only to find that it's been locked out – he even has to break in just to have somewhere warm to sleep for the night. And I felt it was refreshing to see such an honest portrayal of the world of an athlete, which I felt would have been a far better sequel to Rocky, then the rubbish we were subjected to for another 4 predictable and unnecessary 5 sequels, so if Rocky was the perfect start to a career, then Wrestler would be the end.
"Randy the Ram Robinson giving absolutely everything he's got! This is the very definition of heart!" - That is a quote from the very first scene as we hear the commentary of a match, but those few words seem to set the pace and tell you everything you need to know about the film, which is about heart and following your dreams no matter what. The wrestler is a welcome return to our homes and our hearts by two comeback kids, Darren Aronofsky and Mickey Rourke.