A feel-bad movie that feels much worse!

Rating: 7/10 (18 May 2009)

It' true that this character study of ageing wrestler Randy 'the ram' Robinson is a great character study and that Mickey Rourke's performance in the lead is spellbinding. The detail of the techniques and practices of the wrestling world are also fascinating, as is the romantic sub-plot with pole-dancer Cassidy, and the scene with the staple-gun is completely unforgettable.
Why didn't I like it so much then? Well, I hated Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream as I've always loved the book and it seemed to me in 2000 that Aranofsky's vision had missed two important factors which made the book successful; - a real engagement with the characters in the good times and the cruel humour of the narrative. With the Wrestler I found it more of the same. Yes it's powerful, yes it's well made, but stories as bleak as this are hard to love. Somehow Ferrarra did it with Bad Lieutenant, (Kietel's moaning), and Neo with Irreversible, (for some), and even this director with Pi, but the Wrestler's relentless, (and occasionally painfully predictable), study of mortal futility hammers home the desperation without exploring anything positive or providing any hope or even a moral imperative for comfort. It's a Leaving Las Vegas for a more misanthropic audience and really, I'm not sure about the social use of such cynicism. In short, this is a very powerful film, but its almost pornographic in its all-seeing focus on Ram's imperfections, and weak in balancing them with human qualities which we can relate to. This one-sidedness makes it essentially nihilistic; don't expect to feel like partying afterwards!