A powerhouse performance from Rourke and wonderfully directed by Aronofsky

Rating: 10/10 (31 October 2009)

this movie is so powerful and moving that it hit me in ways a lot of other films cease to do. Mickey Rourke (Sin City, Spun, Rumble Fish) really shows a powerhouse performance as Randy The Ram. a wrestler that was considered by a lot of people to be a wrestling legend. a force not to be reckoned with. but Randy The Ram suffers from a heart attack after a match and has to force retirement upon himself. so with him not fighting anymore he finds life very empty and tries to rekindle his relationship with his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and makes friends with a stripper (Marisa Tomei) and shows a lot of affection for her. you really feel the loneliness and sorrow for Randy as he tries to live life normally. the ending to this film is extremely powerful and upsetting.
Darren Aronofsky (Requiem For A Dream, The Fountain, Pi) is one of my favourite directors. he captures this movie brilliantly. the way he shot this film really brings out the gritty atmosphere. it looks almost like a documentary style film, don't let that fool you because it works brilliantly. the film received two Oscar nominations which i'm angry about. first of all the nominations were for Mickey Rourkes flawless acting which he should of won and best supporting actress for Marisa Tomei which i can understand if she didn't win but Mickey should of definitely won. now the really annoying thing is where was the nomination for best picture ??? or best director ??? they should of at least got nominated because this film is amazing (better than Slumdog Millionaire) i do like Slumdog but this film is better. well no point in going on but the academy really overlooked this masterpiece.
its awesome that this film is rated very high on IMDb with an 8.3 that places it at 119 in the top 250. the film deserves it. Mickey Rourke is with out a doubt the one and only guy who could of pulled off playing Randy The Ram. its one of the best performances i've seen in a while. i recommend this film to every one because its just a brilliant film that i think everyone will enjoy............. 10/10...........j.d Seaton