Randy "The Ram" fights his toughest foe yet...time.

Rating: 10/10 (5 February 2015)

It's truly a shame that a film as captivating as "The Wrestler" can go ignored by so many viewers based purely on its subject matter. The professional wrestling industry has been a joke from its incarnation, yet only one watch of this film will give you a whole new respect for the men and women that step inside the squared circle. "The Wrestler" isn't a documentary, but its cinematography allows you to get lost in the story and believe everything happening to Randy "The Ram" Robinson is true. Mickey Rourke puts on a performance of a lifetime and transforms himself into a broken down former wrestling great that is now living in his past; milking every ounce of glory that he has left in his body.
From beginning to end we as the viewer can't help but like Randy no matter how many flaws he reveals. It doesn't matter he can't pay his rent or takes illegal drugs; his charm pushes those faults to the back and it becomes very believable that he was a main even icon twenty years earlier. The interplay between Rourke and Marisa Tomei is captivating. Tomei's Cassidy is a stripper paralleling Randy's conflict with age. Her best years behind her, Cassidy doesn't have the same passion for her career that 'The Ram' does. Cassidy does it for the money, Ram does it for the fame. It's in Randy's attempt to transition into something more that we see ourselves. Coming to grips that his body can't handle anymore physical abuse he does everything he can do rebuild broken relationships and build new ones.
Mickey Rourke must be applauded for his commitment to the role. This performance required 100% investment in order to truly capture the essence of the film; he did that and more. A role that catapulted back into mainstream discussion of leading men, Rourke must have seen a little of himself in this character. The result of his work was an Academy Award nomination for Best Leading Man. Physically, Mickey looked the part so much that we start to believe that he's the man he's portraying. In an industry like professional wrestling where so much importance is invested into name value, very little suspension of disbelief is necessary in creating a realistic wrestling world for us to attach to. Mickey instantly gives the fictional environment credibility.
With the limited budget, Director, Aronofsky ends up with a film that benefits from the lack of gloss and glamor. Another director with more money might have been inclined to bring in more wrestlers with name value and larger venues thus losing the intimate charm we find here. The behind the back filming style along with the incredibly strong score rounds out an "independent" gem that must be experienced. Don't let the plot, revolving around a professional wrestler, sour your impression into missing one of the best films of this century.
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