Film Review: The Wrestler

Director: Darren Aronofsky

A sports related drama released in 2008, it is known for the marquee performance of Mickey Rourke in the lead role. Many people feel he should won the Academy Award for Best Actor over Sean Penn who won it for his performance in Milk but he did win at the BAFTA's and Golden Globes. Darren Aronofsky went on to direct The Fighter and Black Swan that also performed well with critics, although I felt The Fighter was quite average.

Randy ''The Ram'' Robinson (Mickey Rourke)

Randy ''The Ram'' Robinson (Mickey Rourke) is a professional wrestler in the twilight of his career after being hugely popular in the 80's. He know wrestles on a weekend for a smaller local company and works at a supermarket part-time under his real name Robin. It shows the physical demands of wrestling as he is involved in a hardcore match which sees him sustain lots of injuries before suffering a heart attack. Robin is now forced to decide what is important in his life as he tries to reconcile with his daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) with the help of stripper friend Cassidy (Marisa Tomei).

Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) and Robin (Mickey Rourke) 

Mickey Rourke is truly sensational as the troubled veteran wrestler, from the outset you feel like you are watching a real wrestler coming to the end of his career rather than an actor. He received a lot of praise from former professional wrestlers who felt his portrayal of Randy ''The Ram'' was incredibly accurate of the struggles they go through. The issue of a stardom is subtly addressed, how easy is it to give up something you love and where people idolize you for what you do? Many sports stars have compared it to a drug in that you always want one more time.

The film is beautifully shot, it displays middle-America as a bleak and dull concrete wilderness whilst the scenes where Randy is wrestling are a vivid display of light and colour. It almost mirrors Robin's life contrasting the glitzy glamour of professional wrestling to the miserable existence he leads in the rest of his life. What you are left with is an incredibly deep portrayal of someone clearly in pain mentally and physically wondering what he is going to do with the rest of his life, something that many people feel regardless of what has gone before.

3.5/4 Strong lead performance behind this touching drama