The Wrestler

Love. Pain. Glory
Love. Pain. Glory
THE WRESTLER (15)
D: Darren Aronofsky
Fox Searchlight/Wild Bunch/Protozoa (Scott Franklin)
US 2008
104 mins

Drama

W: Robert Siegel
DP: Maryse Alberti
Ed: Andrew Weisblum
Mus: Clint Mansell

Mickey Rourke (Randy 'The Ram' Robinson), Marisa Tomei (Cassidy), Evan Rachel Wood (Stephanie Ramzinsky), Mark Margolis (Lenny)

A dramatic study of life, work and relationships shown through the eyes of an has-been. Mickey Rourke delivers an excellent performance that lived up to all the hype as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a wrestler forced into retirement for health reasons, trying to mend the broken relationship between himself and his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood).

Marisa Tomei is also deserving of praise for her performance as Randy's closest friend, an aging stripper with her own plans for a better life.

Darren Aronofsky's movies aren't always for every taste, but I'd recommend The Wrestler to most people. A dramatic, often heartbreaking and sometimes amusing story of who we are, who we were and who we aspire to be. The parting shot will linger on the mind for days.

8/10

Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler
Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler