The Wrestler

Plot synopsis:
Over the credits, we see numerous magazines and newspaper articles from the 80's, all of which feature Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke), a major professional wrestling star. We then flash forward twenty years, where Randy "The Ram" is getting ready for a match in a small, local auditorium on the underground circuit. He interacts with the other wrestlers backstage, most of whom are much younger than he is (Randy is acknowledged to be in his 50's). Ironically, though they are foes inside the ring, outside the wrestlers are all friendly, discussing with each other how they want to perform the "act" that night, and after the show go drinking together. Randy preps for the match and it's obvious his age has caught up with him; his joints are cracking as he stretches and becomes short-winded easily. After he stretches he puts a small piece of a razor blade in his wrist bandages, in which later he uses to cut himself on the forehead to draw blood, making the match more dramatic for the fans. Afterward, Randy is given a meager payday, as the promoter claims the audience was smaller than expected. Randy's manager then poses a 20th anniversary rematch with his most notable opponent, the Ayatollah, which sold out Madison Square garden in the 80's. Randy agrees, hoping this kind of high-profile match could help him get back to the top.Randy goes home to find he has been locked out of his trailer for not paying his rent. He takes pain medication with a beer and falls asleep in the back of his van. The next day he goes to work to load boxes at a supermarket where he asks his boss if he could have more hours. His boss is very rude to him and makes a snide comment about the cost of tights going up being the reason he needs more hours. Randy laughs it off and continues to ask his boss for more hours but "not on the weekends". Again his boss makes a snide comment about his other 'profession' being the reason he can't work weekends.That night after work goes to a strip club to visit a stripper named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei). Like Randy, Cassidy is older than her coworkers. She's only 43 and still very good looking, but her coworkers are under 25 and dance to updated music versus outdated 80's rock. Randy overhears in another room a few obnoxious young guys calling her an old hag, she is old enough to be their mom and to get away from them. Randy steps in and pushes them around and yells at them that they have no idea how wonderful Cassidy is. She gives him a lap dance before she goes on stage and we switch to the next morning.We see Randy going through his training rituals. First stop is getting his hair bleached blond at a salon, then going to a tanning salon. Going to a Dollar Store to buy a few items for his upcoming match and then we see him sitting in a locker room at a gym buying $900 worth of steroids and injecting it into his backside before he begins to work out feverishly. After the gym we see him talking to wrestler Dylan Summers, (a.k.a. Necro Butcher) who is explaining to him that the match is going to be particularly brutal "hardcore", in which Randy and his opponent use various weapons on each other, including thumbtacks, staple guns, barbed wire and glass. Randy is asked if he's ever been in a match that involved staples and Randy says he hasn't. It is explained they are not bad going in but coming out they may leave a small hole. Randy looks uncertain but continues. We cut to the match and it is exactly as described; bloody and brutal. Randy suffers numerous gashes, including a deep cut on his chest from the barbed wire, but wins the match by smashing a glass door over his opponent's head. After the match Randy stumbles backstage and is seated in a chair where doctors fervently sew him up and remove the staples. The pain is excruciating and Randy gags a few times from the pain. After the doctors are finished and he is alone in his dressing room, he walks over to his locker, but before he can even open it he stares intently at his left arm, vomits twice and passes out.Randy wakes up in a hospital to learn that he suffered a heart attack that necessitated a bypass operation. His doctor warns Randy that unless he cuts out the drugs and stops wrestling, his life could be in danger. While signing out of the hospital an envelope is given to him containing his pay for the match. Randy goes to the pharmacy to have his prescriptions from the hospital filled and is very embarrassed to pick them up. Then he goes to pay his back rent and the trailer park manager takes the padlock off his door and says "Welcome Home". Randy immediately falls asleep. The next day, following the doctor's advice, he takes it easy. He invites a neighbor kid over to play a game of wrestling, featuring Randy himself, on an old Nintendo console. The kid plays one match with him and abruptly leaves complaining about how old and boring the game is, and how he has "Call of Duty 4 at home".. "Call IT what?".. "No, Call OF Duty, it's about war". Randy goes for a jog and half way has to lean on a tree from exhaustion and starts to cry from the pain in his chest and realizing how alone in life he is.He goes back to the strip club and tells Cassidy about his heart attack, and she breaks one of her rules by agreeing to meet him outside to talk. He tells her how alone he feels, and she suggests he try to rekindle a relationship with his daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood). At first he is hesitant but then Randy agrees.Randy goes to Stephanie's home, where she refuses to have anything to do with him. She yells at him for never being there during her childhood and walks away. Randy goes back to the strip club, tells Cassidy what happened, so she offers to help Randy find a present for Stephanie. The next morning Randy is waiting for Cassidy in front of a resale clothes store when she pulls up an old pickup truck. She gets out wearing jeans, winter boots, a heavy winter coat and a winter hat. Opposite of how he usually sees her (half nude) Randy 'compliments' her by saying she looks good cleaned up. She good-naturedly laughs it off knowing what he meant, and thanks him. They go inside the vintage shop and look at clothes to buy Stephanie. Cassidy settles on a black pea-coat but Randy insists on buying a lime green jacket with an "S" on it, "For Stephanie" he says. Cassidy frowns at it but then tells him to do what he thinks is right. Outside of the store he asks her is she wants to go have a beer. She declines. Randy insists and asks her why she can't. She tells him she doesn't usually do this but..she has a confession to make. She has a son. He's 9 years old. Randy asks why she never told him before and she explains it's just not considered attractive to have a kid. She shows him a picture of her son and he tells her how good looking he is and that he looks just like his mother. Randy then runs to his van and comes back with a old "Randy the Ram" wrestling action figure and tells her to give it to her son. Eventually Randy convinces Cassidy to have that beer. In the bar they talk and reminisce about the 80's and how lousy things are now, and Randy eventually kisses her. At first she fully embraces him, but then suddenly pushes him away, slams her beer and leaves him.Randy goes to see Stephanie and gives her the gift. The first one was the shiny lime jacket with the letter 'S' embroidered on it. She looks uncertain, so he explains that the next one is the "real" gift. He then gives her the pea-coat Cassidy picked out. She likes this one much better. Stephanie reluctantly agrees to spend the afternoon with him but he insists. They go for a walk by the New Jersey boardwalk and talk. Randy confesses that he has not been a good father. He breaks down in tears and pleads with her to have the relationship he never had because he was so very wrong before. Stephanie warms to him, thinks he might be trying to be a good father, and agrees to meet him for dinner that weekend.A few days later Randy goes to a convention to sign memorabilia for fans, only 2 fans showed up to see him. While there he also sees several of the old wrestlers are disabled, one being in wheelchair. Randy leaves and makes a bunch of phone calls telling each person he is now retired and to cancel the 20th anniversary rematch with the Ayatollah. He then goes to work and walks in his bosses office without knocking and sees him watching a porn. The boss yells at him to "try again, this time knock". Randy turns around and closes the door, knocks twice and his boss throws the door open hitting him with it yelling, "what do you want?". Randy again asks him for more hours. His boss says he doesn't have anymore to give him except for weekends. Randy hesitates and says he'll take weekend. Stunned the boss turns around and says it's his. He is to work the deli counter. "You mean with customers?" After donning an apron and a hair net the boss gives him his name tag (with his real full name even after Randy objecting to it) and he goes out to the deli counter and immediately gets into the swing of things. He actually seems to enjoy himself taking care of the customers and cutting meat and frying chicken.Later he goes to see Cassidy at the strip club and gives her a 'Thank You' card. He asks her if he could get her a drink and she says she doesn't take drink from "customers". Stunned he says to her, "I thought we were passed that." She became very harsh with him and said NO, all he is is a customer and she should never have went out with him the first time. They argue and Randy insults her and she yells for security for him to be thrown out.Upset, Randy goes to a wrestling show as a spectator. After the show he goes out with the other wrestlers, gets drunk, and ends up doing cocaine and having sex with a fan. The next morning he gets home and sleeps the day away and when he wakes he realizes that he missed dinner with Stephanie that night. He goes to her home in the middle of the night to apologize, but Stephanie is in tears, throwing things at him, and screaming that she waited two hours for him to show up. She says he has never been and never will be a father to her. She also says he cannot change who he is, and that she never wants to see him again and throws him out of the house.Randy goes to work the next day. He becomes very agitated while dealing with an finicky elderly lady, and to add insult to injury the next customer says he "thinks" he recognizes him, that he looks just like the Ram except older. Humiliated, Randy accidentally/intentionally cuts his thumb in the deli meat slicer. After he cuts himself he yells in pain and blood spatters, with customers screaming. His boss reminds him there are customers, and he screams at his boss for being such an A**hole, and "HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT", kicks and punches items around with blood flying everywhere, "You Prick!! I QUIT"..and he later calls up the promoter and tells him he wants to wrestle the last match with the Ayatollah.Later we see Randy bleaching his hair from a box and spray tanning himself, then packing up his trailer with all of his belongings. Cassidy arrives just as Randy is leaving and apologizes, saying there is something between them but she was afraid to let him get close. Randy seems to have resigned himself to the fact that he is meant to be alone, and drives off, passing her a flyer for the match. Randy drives to the arena and greets the Ayatollah (actually a used car salesman named Bob). They catch up and prepare for the match. As Randy is getting ready to walk out to the ring with the crowd chanting his name, Cassidy arrives. She warns him that his heart could give out if he wrestles, but he shrugs it off. Randy says that the real world doesn't care about him, and the only place he belongs is in the ring. Cassidy tells him she wants to be with him, but Randy heads to the ring as his music blares.Before the match, Randy gives a speech thanking the fans, telling them how he's lived his life burning the candle from both ends. But even though people told him he'd never wrestle again, here he is. The match begins, and the crowd is into it. But as it progresses, Randy starts to deviate from the planned match. Concerned, Ayatollah asks if he's alright. We realize that Randy is doing this on purpose, that he wants his heart to give out. Randy goes so far as to steal one of the Ayatollah's signature moves. As the match winds down, Randy feels his heart giving out, and he can barely stand. Bob/Ayatollah realizes this and tries to end the match to save Randy's life, but Randy refuses to stop. Randy looks into the crowd, but cannot see Cassidy. Finally Randy climbs to the top rope to deliver his signature "Ram Jam" finisher, his heart ready to burst, Randy salutes the fans, his face covered in tears and sweat. He then leaps off the top rope, and the screen fades to black.

Tags: realism, dramatic, violence, tragedy, romantic, sentimental

Review:
Following the screening was a Q&A session with Mickey Rourke, Darren Aronofsky, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, and film composer Clint Mansell.Mickey Rourke delivers one of the most honest and heart breaking performances I've seen from an actor.
As a newly revived Mickey Rourke fan, I can tell you this audience member says it's just beginning Mickey!Marissa Tomei delivers a stellar performance as an aging exotic dancer the parallel story to Mickey's character "The Ram".
Rourke may not be as out-of-his-comfort-zone as Sean Penn in Milk, the only other Oscar-worthy lead performance this year, but that is merely a testament to his fundamental understanding of his character: Randy is an understated guy with big scars, both literally and figuratively.
He works part-time at a grocery store and visits strip clubs regularly, because it's the only place where he seemingly has any meaningful connections with another human being  namely the dancer Cassidy (played by Marisa Tomei), who is similarly a bit older than most peers in her "profession," yet doesn't really know any other way to live.The Wrestler draws immediate comparison to the classics of working class cinema, including Rocky and On the Waterfront.
Yet we recognize that the drugs, the empty sex and the generally self-destructive behavior Randy partakes in is rooted in the same emotional enguish that the actor himself seems to carry with him; Aronofsky spotted this quality in Rourke, and he fought the producers for Rourke over their first choice (Nicolas Cage), and his dedication paid off  you'll be hard-pressed to find a more convincing, moving or memorable lead performance this year.Ultimately, The Wrestler is one of the year's very best films  a character study that is at once timeless and powerful.
An amazing career-best performance from Mickey Rourke and outstanding work by Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood, the film is very powerful and emotional.
Mickey Rourke returns to the big screen in Darren Aronofsky's brilliant character study, The Wrestler.
Mickey Rourke gained about 35 pounds of muscle to play Randy 'The Ram' Robinson and looks the part of an old beaten down wrestler.
It brings out an amazing amount of depth out of his character and simply pushes the film to that of the least a very good movie.The direction of Darren Aronofsky and writing of Robert Siegel combined for an amazingly heart felt sympathy portrayal of a man.
As someone who's a fan and who has actually worked behind the scenes in pro wrestling, I can tell you that Randy "The Ram" Robinson's story is a very respectful and realistic portrayal of the toll pro wrestling takes on its stars' lives.
Most end up somewhere in between.Interestingly, as precarious as Randy's health became, however, if he were in his mid-50's (as was Mickey Rourke at the time), he still had a longer pro wrestling career than many others who abused their body likewise.
In Darren Aronofsky's brilliant character drama The Wrestler, Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) is a down-and-almost-out pro wrestler who grapples with his own mortality and a fear of being alone and desperate.
Rourke's Randy is intrepid, a scarred battle cruiser who desperately needs to be in the ring to survive, a man who's emotions are kept as close to the vest as possible, a man with nothing else going for him other than his time in the spotlight.The Ram, probably an amalgam of several real-life wrestlers (chief among them, Randy "Macho Man" Savage), is a relic of the 1980s, a man who wistfully counts the scars and cuts on his body and remembers with great fondness his greatest ring moment, a pay-per-view battle against The Ayatollah.
"The Wrestler" is a beautiful movie, but it wouldn't be half as good if Mickey Rourke hadn't given the main character a face and a heart.
There's virtually no other Hollywood actor that could have embodied Randy "The Ram" Robinson as perfectly as Rourke, and it's shocking to think how the movie could have turned out had someone else, say Bruce Willis or - as originally planned - Nicolas Cage played the part.
It's all good, because one look at Randy's face reminds us of all the hits and punches he must have taken in the past, and it all becomes real again.So, Rourke obviously makes the movie, but that's not the only remarkable thing.
Besides a very good performance by the beautiful Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler" is also worth mentioning because it marks the first time Darren Aronofsky has made a straight forward drama that's not heavy headed or laden with too much symbolism.
Sean Penn may have been very good in "Milk", but the character of The Wrestler is a thousand times more interesting and memorable, and considering that fact that Rourke will forever be remembered for this great performance, he would really have deserved the Oscar..
Even though the wrestlers are shown to be friendly outside the ring and what goes on inside is really a 'performance', the blood is real, and so is the pain.Siegel's writing is solid and Aronofsky's portrayal of the character is quite remarkable.
Evan Rachel Wood shines as Randy's estranged daughter.I have admired Aronofsky for his attempt in making different kinds of cinema and giving us great movies and 'The Wrestler' is no disappointment at all.
It is one of the best movies I've seen last year, and more than that it is even more special due to the brilliant and amazing performance of its cast.The return of Mickey Rourke was overdue, a gifted and talented actor, who in my opinion was wrongly shunned and marginalized because of his past attitude and behaviour which marked him as a "bad boy".
I don't want to discuss the movie in detail, nor give anything away from the plot or storyline, suffice to say that this is one viewing that is more than worth sitting through from beginning to end.Rourke, Marisa Tomei (another grossly underrated actress) and Evan Rachel Wood are phenomenal and really hold their own and make the most of their on-screen time.
Most importantly, the director does an excellent job of showing the mutual respect and camaraderie that exists among professional wrestlers - a code of honor that ultimately attracts and keeps Rourke's character engaged in the world of wrestling 20+ years after he has passed his prime.
As a faded wrestler, Randy "The Ram" Robinson is living in a trailer park where he can barely keep up the rent, during the week he works a manual job in the stock room of a local supermarket and at weekends he dons his costume and takes part in wrestling events in small and only partially filled leisure centres and halls.The nature of the character has been talked to death already, mainly because of the actor playing him and how good his performance is, but Randy is a fairly simplistic character on paper.
It can be seen various ways, like a story about an ageing wrestler and showgirl who try to get back into life or as a film about show-business using those who are part of it, without really caring about them as person and so on.
There is no denying that Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler features two tremendous performances by Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei.
Not only is this a juicy, meaty role - though some might argue he really isn't acting but simply being himself - but it is such a far cry that some of the crappy movies he came to be known for.Perhaps it is because Rourke finds such a personal connection to Randy "The Ram" Robinson in "The Wrestler" that he is able to truly tap into the character's deepest fears and insecurities.
Mickey Rourke finally convinced me of the recognition some people give him.Me, I've never really been a big fan of him, but this movie made me care about him, and yes, him, not just his character.
Last night though I wasn't only floored but I felt I was walking on air after watching Darren Aronofsky's near masterpiece, THE WRESTLER.MIckey Rourke's performance is not one of just hype.
There's a lot here to discuss including the dueling thread of Marisa Tomei and Mickey Rourke's characters both using there aging bodies to perform, and yet not knowing if they have anything else.
As the Ram, Randy endures severe beatings, razor blade cuts and staple gun wounds all over his body, among lesser evils, but the real world just might be tougher than this.A killer story, career-resurrecting performance by Mickey Rourke, and amazing support by Marisa Tomei (Randy's love interest), help make this film one of the most beloved sports films of all time.
Rourke looks like a man who has been beaten up by life and in the ring so he fit the character perfectly and along with fantastic performances from Marissa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood who play his stripper love interest and estranged daughter respectively.
Marisa Tomei killed it as Pam also.Aronofsky's directing is spectacular, the one scene that stuck with me all these years (as i write these lines, i just watched the film for the second time after about four years) is the one when Randy is going for the deli counter in the supermarket.
Mickey Rourke's resurrection as an actor by playing Randy 'The Ram' Robinson in The Wrestler.
And this, again, worked amazingly well.Randy 'The Ram' (Rourke) is an aging wrestler, a former star of the great American invention mistakenly called there "wrestling", which actually has more to do with acting than wrestling and can be summed up as "trying to imitate a cruel fight using hands, legs and different sharp artifacts".
In reality his days of fame have passed long time ago and Randy makes a living trying random physical job, and spending his weekends fighting in a local wrestling club, usually with wrestlers that could be his sons or grandsons.
How on Earth other that -- it just feels real.Thanks to the great Rourke and fantastic climax building using music, sound, cinematography and "this something" added by Aronofsky, "The Wrestler" is a powerful and engaging movie that I watched with my jaws dropped up until the final "Ram Jam".// This review has been originally published at http://filmaster.com -- film buffs community //.
An aging and broken down wrestler tries to live a normal life outside the ring, but when things get even worse in his life, he turns to the one thing that kept him going and made him feel loved, wrestling.Mickey Rourke's performance as Randy "The Ram" Robinson is honest, heart-breaking and real.
True, the story of this character mirrors the life of the actor himself and it's obvious that he brought that with him, but it's hard to watch this film and not cheer for him, feel sorry for him and want everything to work out in the end for him.This is the 4th film from Darren Aronofsky and it goes back to his more independent roots, like his first feature Pi. Not saying his other two features who big Hollywood productions, but anyway.
Rourke's performance will make you love Randy, support him, cheer him on, but above all, come the end, you will be pleading with him, like all of the other characters around him, to stop.The towering presence in the middle of the film is ably supported by Marisa Tomei.
After seeing the movie, Cage called Aronofsky and told him that "Rourke is the Ram." He gained some muscle for the film and really looks the role of the beat down and washed up professional wrestler.
Twenty years ago, Randy 'The Ram' Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a successful wrestler; now he is decadent, living alone in a trailer, working part time in a supermarket and wrestling in the weekends.
Randy gets also a full-time job in the supermarket, but he does not deal well with the world outside the arena and decides to return to the sport were he is recognized by his fans."The Wrestler" is a good, but overrated movie, with a drama that is very common with athletes when the end of their careers comes.
Mickey Rourke returns like a phoenix in a role of a decadent wrestler that wasted his life and destroyed the relationship with his own daughter and has adaptation problems with the world outside the arena.
Randy 'The Ram' Robinson, played by Mickey Rourke, is an aging professional wrestler holding onto his last thread of fame and worthiness in the bottom ranks of the sport.
"The Wrestler" is one of the most effective films of the year because wrestling fan or not you can relate to these characters and genuinely feel for them..
Randy (Mickey Rourke) is portrayed to be a professional sportsman who puts wrestling before anything, so how did he end up in the situation he is at the start of the movie?
He spends his days alone and the main identity he has is from the 80s, and he is so attached to the his performance name Randy "The Ram" Robinson that he can't go by his real name.After watching this movie I have no doubt that in addition to winning the Golden Globe Mickey Rourke will also win the Oscar, because when you watch his gritty performance it doesn't even seem like he's acting.
Because he is also someone who was washed up in the 80s like Randy, and yet the exile from mainstream has been good for Rourke in a way, because now he is a man who pulls the pathos right out of you.But the movie isn't only deserving of pathos, and neither is Randy "The Ram".
The blood looks real, and those that say professional wrestling is fake are only half right.The movie is also sexy thanks to Marisa Tomei, playing a stripper who is growing out of the business, and is as connected to the 80s as Randy.
Mickey Rourke appears to connect strongly and sincerely with this role, as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a professional wrestler 20 years passed his peak; it's the kind of searing, heartfelt performance only a true survivor could deliver.
The Wrestler is an extraordinary film at the same time it marks the transition of director Darren Aronofsky to a different style than the one of his previous movies.The Wrestler is a more accessible film than Aronofsky's previous movies.Pi,Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain were very unusual movies while The Wrestler is more "normal".But this very talented director has made a brilliant work even at a style which is different than the one he is accustomed to.This is a magnificent movie which will stay with the spectator for a long time (well,that's what happened in my case).Basically,The Wrestler repeats the formula from Rocky (or,more precisely,from Rocky Balboa).But putting the main character in the wrestling world makes the story more credible and less archetypal.The down at heel hero who tries to recover his previous glory has been used on many movies; but in The Wrestler,that story feels fresh,unpredictable and absolutely realistic because of some innovative angles the screenplay has.Many people consider The Wrestler as the artistic rebirth of Mickey Rourke,which makes me very happy,although we do not have to underrate his solid works on supporting roles in movies like Domino,Spun and the brilliant Sin City.But the last time we had seen Rourke in a leading role was in 1992,in the movie White Sands.His performance in The Wrestler is monumental and it also helps the fact that Rourke had a period of glory for then living in the shadows for a long time,something which is related to his character.Marisa Tomei also shines on her character because she is completely natural on her role.Evan Rachel Wood also brings an excellent performance because she shows solid range and adequate deepness.Aronofsky's direction is perfect.The style he found to tell the story was completely appropriate,he could obtain magnificent performances from his cast and the scenes of wrestling fights are very well filmed.The screenplay is amazing,not only because it is very well crafted and because it presents a perfect development of the characters,but also because I admired the way in which it shows the wrestling world.For one sight,it accepts the falseness from that sport but for the other sight,it shows the tremendous training the wrestlers have to do,which requires enormous effort.And I also liked the ending very much.I think it should not be taken on a literal way,but as an analogy of the emotional search of the main character.I will not say any more because I would ruin the movie to the reader.The Wrestler is a magnificent and absolutely fascinating movie which shows once more,why Aronofsky is one of the most interesting contemporary directors.This is a great cinematographic experience which deserves all the acclamation it has received.Besides,who cares if Rourke did not win the Oscar ?
If ever a guy deserved an Oscar it is Mickey Rourke for his portrayal of Randy ( The Ram ) Robinson in this film.
There were points in this film where I had very real tears in my eyes.Mickey Rourke is Randy "The Ram" Robinson (the wrestler of the title), who lives in the nostalgia of his former glory but who's career has taken a nosedive.
Darren Aronofsky, the director of Pi, Requiem for a Dream, and The Fountain, offers up his latest, and greatest, film yet (and I thought it couldn't get any better than Requiem.) The Wrestler stars Mickey Rourke as washed-up professional wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson, in the greatest performance of this year.
Both Marisa Tomei and Rachel Wood is outstanding in this movie, but never ever have I seen such an obviously and worthy winner for the Oscars without winning as Mickey Rourke as Randy.
Right up there with movies like Million Dollar Baby and Lost In Translation in terms of emotional content and character exploration.Mickey Rourke deserves all the accolades for his acting performance - he is superb - but Marisa Tomei is excellent too, as is Evan Rachel Wood.