Great Writing, Brilliant Acting

Rating: 9/10 (9 April 2014)

"The Wrestler" is a superior film that I would recommend to anyone. It is a character-driven story performed by a superior cast well-suited to their parts.
The central story is about two people, Randy "The Ram" and Cassidy, two well-crafted characters who have mismanaged their lives and have to deal every day with the realities that come with that.
Randy is portrayed by Mickey Rourke in a tour de force performance that blurs the lines between the character and the actor. "The Wrestler" is a comeback movie for Rourke, who bravely allows himself to be as vulnerable as an actor can be in depicting the washed-up wrestler. Randy still dresses and styles himself as the ring headliner of many years ago. His living quarters also reflect the lifestyle of a young man, though his face and body--bearing the scars of old battles--belie the truth. As age ravages his physical abilities and he is forced to face his own mortality, he tries to reenter the life of his estranged daughter. He also struggles to connect with a woman who is facing her own demons.
Cassidy, portrayed by Marisa Tomei, is a stripper who also must face the realities of her profession. Both of them are performers who daily fight Time to remain in professions designed for young people. Cassidy, like Randy, has the emotional scars of a long battle. She feels dehumanized by her job and, resignedly, recognizes the continuing reality that men do not see her as a real woman or a mother (to her young son). Marisa Tomei, as usual, finds the heart of her character and exposes it for the audience.
The film does a good job of placing these characters inside a world that is ruthless in its dehumanization of people. Randy takes a job at a grocery. The scenes in which his a**hole boss exacts his petty tokens of fealty are written with understatement and such an ear for truth. Some of the scenes of Randy manning the deli counter are with non-actor customers of an actual store.
"The Wrestler" brings to the screen some of the toughest realities of life. The action is perfectly set in some real New Jersey locales, where Asbury Park and other locations have buildings and venues that are reminders of heydays long past. While the film celebrates the survivor instincts of Randy and Cassidy, it focuses on the demeaning trivialities of life and the undeniable degradation of time.