The Wrestler

Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was once a hugely popular and successful wrestler. The Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair of his day. But time has moved on and its twenty years after the peak of Randy's success. Randy has trouble paying his bills, has a part time job, but still wrestles on the weekends. Each Friday in a community center or local gym, Randy relives the glory of twenty years ago. Randy has the fans and the roar of the crowd even a small one still keeps him going.

Randy is old and his body is starting to show it. He uses a hearing aid, has some heart trouble and lives alone. He spends his time in his trailer, working to make ends meet and going to the local strip club where he has a flirtatious stripper who is also getting on in age. Randy has a broken relationship with his daughter and not much to live by.

The story is not perhaps anything spectacular. We follow Randy about his life as he struggles to live and faces problems such as being locked out of his trailer for failure to pay rent. We see him in the glory of the wrestling ring and the not so glorious time behind a grocery store deli counter. We often see this from an established behind the back shot that reminds one of a documentary or perhaps a wrestler entering the arena. Its novel for a while and at times works really well. At others it took me out of the story.

What we ultimately are really talking about in this movie is Mr. Rourke. His body busted and bruised, he looks and plays the broken down man who still has dreams of better times bouncing around in his head. Rourke plays this with aplomb and never mind a critique that might suggest he is just playing a version of himself. There is little in the movie that can't be seen coming but as a character study it does a nice job.

Marissa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood are supporting players as the stripper and estranged daughter respectively. Tomei shows a nice range (though she was better in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead). Wood has little to do and perhaps her talents are wasted. Some have even complained she should have been left out of the film entirely. I can't totally agree with this sentiment. My favorite single scene is one which involves Rourke and Wood as father and daughter. Having slowly begun the mending process of their relationship, the two dance around an abandoned room as if a waltz were playing.

Its a sentimental scene to be sure but since it seems quite inevitable that Randy will manage to mess up with his daughter again, it had a bittersweetness to it. All the possibilities of what might have been for this father and daughter if Randy could just get past his mistakes. Rourke sells the scene and the movie and although it wasn't a perfectly crafted film, you can bank on enjoying most of it thanks to Rourke.