The Wrestler (2008) Reviews

This is a film I can watch over and over. I just find it very moving. And it underscores the importance of casting. I can't imagine anyone other than Mickey Rourke in the part. It almost seems to draw on his history of a once famous star turned down-and-out "has been." You really feel for him. Even his choice of Cassidy, the stripper, seems like a self-destructive move. Something that Mickey Rourke would probably do in real life. A+

Though the story is somewhat lacking in creativity, The Wrestler is an involving drama with a linear story that will likely provide a decent amount of emotional satisfaction to most who see it. The first third of the film is effective in its realistic depiction of the world of wrestling, particularly the staged elements of it - in the changing room, before heading out to the ring, we see fighters who will be facing off discussing how the fights will play out. Darren Aronofsky's film shows us that this is still a sport that can yield many real physical wounds, and Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) not only knows every major wound in his body, but remembers the year in which he got it and the fight in which it was dealt to him. An even more dire consequence of Randy's participation in said brutal sport comes when he has a heart attack after a fight and is informed by his doctor that he can no longer wrestle. This marks the beginning of the core of The Wrestler's plot, which essentially depicts how no matter how physically hurt you get participating in a sport like wrestling, the chances are much higher that you'll get hurt in an even worse way when you decide to face your demons in the real world, as is the case with Randy in his frustrated attempt to establish a romantic relationship with the night club dancer Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), whose real name is Pam, and in his equally fruitless efforts to make amends with his daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood).

I'm not completely straying from majority opinion here because I do think Mickey Rourke gives a very good lead performance as the film's main character, but when it comes to dramas, one's opinion on an acting job is all about how that individual viewer was impacted by the performer's on-screen work, and in my case, I've seen a handful of better dramatic performances. Rourke is at his best during the scene at the beach when he breaks down while trying to establish a paternal relationship with Stephanie, but I didn't find many other scenes in the film in which he had much room to shine. In fact, I was more impressed with Marisa Tomei's work: as one of today's best working actresses, she gives a fearless performance as the stripper who is also a mother, never succumbing to the hokey "innocent prostitute" role, and her reaction shots during the final few minutes of her appearance on the film are great. Evan Rachel Wood also proves yet again that she's an excellent emotional performer, as she started showing in her early days on the TV show Once & Again and still today in The Wrestler despite not being in the film all that much (she had more space to display her range in this year's earlier The Life Before Her Eyes).

The lackings in The Wrestler are, predictably, the same ones that tend to afflict dramas that are good but don't quite reach the potency they aspire to. Some scenes are forced. Though I mentioned that Wood gives a very good performance as Randy's daughter, the scene in which she suddenly seems to accept him as her father and dances with him in the empty ballroom comes much quicker than it should, as it didn't seem that enough had happened to warrant an event like that just yet. When Randy has no choice but to start working at the deli counter at the grocery store he works in, the scene that depicts him walking towards the deli counter shooting him from the back with the background noise of the cheering crowd (to establish a parallelism with his wrestling days) is too obvious and goes on longer than it should. The event that sort of propels Randy getting pissed off at the deli counter features an old woman telling him, back and forth, "a little more, a little less," forcing him to adjust the serving quantity each time, and again, it's a little bit exaggerated, and the filmmakers could've surely come up with a more believable situation to set the main character off, in order to jump-start the film's climax.

During this decade Darren Aronofsky's films have now officially run the gamut in terms of quality. In 2000, he gave us the searingly masterful Requiem For A Dream (one of those rare movies that is indeed great, but I could never watch again, because it's simply too hair-raising for more than one viewing), and in 2006 he gave us a horrible misfire with The Fountain (an absolute mess of an artsy film, with gigantic ambitions that end up amounting to nothing). Now he's given us The Wrestler which is admittedly good, but I have to disagree with the majority opinion that it's one of the year's best dramas - it simply doesn't feature much that hasn't been done equally well or better in other movies. Nonetheless, it is very well-performed, and it benefits from a hefty amount of sincere and poignant moments.

The Wrestler has gone way above my expectations. It is a complete masterpiece of sports films. Some people have referred it as the new Raging Bull and the sports film of the decade. I would call it both for these various reasons. It is a very emotional story with a rather heartbreaking storyline, it has very realistic effects and it has absolutely beautiful characters to watch. This film is one of those rare sports films that are actually really serious and have a very powerful meaning. For example, the meaning of the boxing film Cinderella Man is that it is a story or committing yourself for your family because you are poor and are endangered financially. The Wrestler has a very different and very new meaning compared to other sports films that have been made in the past. To me so far, this is the sports film of the decade but not of all time (Raging Bull takes that place). The reason why my expectations weren't very high on The Wrestler was because it was directed by a director that has been extremely bizarre films that have a fantasy of their own (Darren Aronofsky - The Fountain, Requiem For A Dream, Pi). Also, it seemed like an extremely bizarre wrestling film as well but when you watch it, you will discover that it really isn't at all. When you see the name of the title 'The Wrestler' it seems like a rather weak story that doesn't even try and think of a decent name but when you see it, you will see that it didn't even need to try and you would forget about the name of the film, you would just remember what is in it.


Mickey Rourke delivers the best leading male performance of 2008 but not best male performance of 2008. That goes to Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight of course. Mickey Rourke is a perfect match for Randy 'The Ram' Robinson. What I truly loved about Randy's character was that people seem like he rips off or copies the actions of another professional wrestler particularly in the WWE such as Hulk Hogan but he isn't. He is a very different wrestler compared to other wrestlers there are in real life. Also, Mickey Rourke was a professional wrestler in his earlier days of his life and that is probably the main reason why Rourke was the best choice for Randy 'The Ram' Robinson. Mickey Rourke has never really had any proper credit for the films he has been in before apart from Sin City and The Wrestler is the film that guarantees him an Oscar nomination or even a win if not Sean Penn. I never thought I could see Mickey Rourke playing a character with a lot of emotion that you could feel sorry for but he has done it. Mickey is good at playing really hulky characters like Randy and Marv which is another key point I am making of why he was so good as Randy. I don't really know who would be able to portray Randy 'The Ram' Robinson any better than Mickey Rourke did. Well, Sylvester Stallone would have been an option because of the body build especially because of Rambo but he would have only done a really shit job because he is a crap actor and he probably knows it. His acting was literally perfect: his body build, his voice, his style of acting and communicating with people. Before I saw The Wrestler, I was surprised that Marisa Tomei was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globes but after seeing it I now realise that it is no surprise that she was nominated for that award in that category. Her performance was very slimy with a slimy attitude in which Cassidy really is like. Cassidy is a stripper who works at a strip club. Marisa was really good because she was obviously an older stripper which is part of Cassidy's character and also because Marisa seems like a really irresistible woman for a 40-year-old which is very rare of a woman at her age. She will be a close favourite for an Oscar nomination this year as well.


Darren Aronofsky directs this film like no other director could. He has done some extremely bizarre fantasy stories in the past but this one totally tops them all like a hammer sticking a nail in a wall. He has created a story that I didn't think would turn out as good as it really did. He has finally created a film that some people won't be bewildered or confused by as he did for Requiem For A Dream, Pi and especially The Fountain. When you see the poster of the film for the first time, I think that it looks like a golden wrestling film with a real fantasy story but it isn't a fantasy at all as I have already said. He has directed a film that will always be remembered as the best wrestling film of all time if not one of the top sports film of all time. This is without a doubt Darren Aronofsky's best film and it is as simple as that. The script was originally written which doesn't really happen very often with sports films. It had very original characters and with a very original plot so it is better that way.


I would love to see Aronofsky make more dramas like this one with a very powerful meaning to it. The Wrestler is certainly Mickey Rourke's best performance which for some reason feels like a breakthrough performance for him even though he must be in his 50s or 60s. I choose Mickey Rourke over Sean Penn for Best Leading Actor definitely. The Wrestler is a rather memorable performance from Marisa Tomei which makes this film the best from her too as well as In The Bedroom.


The Wrestler is one of my favourite films of 2008 without a single doubt in my mind. It is the best sports film since Cinderella Man which makes it the fourth best sports film of all time after that film and Cinderella Man and Bend It Like Beckham. I will always remember this film as more than a masterpiece. I would best remember it as a new, creative and artistic film that brings a bright and clever future to its genre both drama and sport.

Most stories are comprised of a few different parts, such as the introduction, the climax and the so called cooling off after the climax. If a film nails all the parts a good story should have, it's likely to have a very good story. What most people don't like about The Wrestler is that the film's climax essentially doesn't end in their mind. If you ask me though, the film climaxes before the monumental fight in the end of the movie. The climax is the downfall of The Ram, and after that we get to digest the entire climax during a fight scene. This story is different in a way because it doesn't peak at a big fight scene, but instead emotionally starting from The Ram cutting his hand at a meat station. All this is most certainly carefully planned out by writer/director Darren Aronofsky, and he also managed to choose the perfect (albeit obvious) actor for the main character, as Mickey Rourke does an utterly fantastic job essentially portraying himself if he had never got his comeback with Sin City and had been a bit more down on his luck. It's an interesting "what if?" scenario for Rourke, and he transmits his interest towards the part to the viewer in the form of the performance of his lifetime.

Mickey Rourke stars in this very dark film. as a wrestler by the name of Randy "Ram" Robinson. A profesional wrestler coming of age. the film also stars Marisa Tomei as cassidy/Pam ,Robinson's love interest, who is also a stripper who is losing the interest of her customers. and the very beautiful and talented Evan Rachel wood who plays Stephanie, Robinson's daughter who absolutley hates him. I found this film to be very slow moving and to have very little meanginful dialogue. Directed by Darren Arrpnofsky(The Foutain) The wrestler is true to it's tagline "love, pain, glory". Although this does not change my feelings toward the film. Rourke and cast do provide very good performances. Although I do not find this to be my favoite Rouke performance either( I prefer sin city in the role of marv). This film is plain and very bland especially for an Aronofsky film. Also, I belive that this film shouldn't have gained all the hype it did ,beacue it was very low budget and big in star power. Although I did like Aronfosky's approach to directing this film. But in my opinoion skip this film you won't miss anything and its also nothing that hasn't been done before.

I never thought that I would type these words: I wanted Mickey Rourke to win the Oscar. After years of slumming his quirky and strange talent in B-movies and straight-to-DVD trash, he has returned in a big way. He looks like hell, he sounds like hell, and he's lovable for being so simplistic. Yet he is handicapped emotionally, and, should he continue to wrestle, physically. It is not quite the autobiographical film that everyone claims it is, although that is there, but a complicated, moving and depressing portrait of someone who time passed by. It is not entirely a one-man show since Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood have big emotional impacts, despite very limited screen time. Wood only has two scenes, but they are both emotionally devastating for very different reasons. The first is during Randy's hopeless bid to reconnect with his daughter, she seems receptive to it. They talk about the past, her general uneasiness about his latest promise, his tears to show that he is genuine. They agree to meet for dinner and begin to rebuild. He fails to show up after partying too hard. She is let down once more and casts him out of her house, and life forever. Tomei, bravely bearing all in her mid-forties and looking damn fine still, plays the stripper, who functions as the female equivalent to Randy. Time has passed her by, she is in a career that is more artifice then reality, and, at times, she seems to forget which is which. Their scenes are humorous, sad, touching and complicated.

Darren Aronofsky is very easily the next contender for auteur director of his generation. His aesthetic shows the pain in life. Violence is in escapable in this film, for obvious reasons. But it's the emotionally damaging scenes which hit harder. But Aronofsky is also adapt at showcasing the quieter moments. The horrifying reunion of former wrestlers, an assemblage of Frankenstein's monsters rejects complete with medical devices and steroid caused misshapen bodies, shows the eventually horrors to come. But it is not played for shock or for laughs. Randy is looking around and begins to notice that his fate will be theirs if he doesn't stop soon. Or the scenes where the wrestlers gather backstage, listen to the roster, go over what is plausible in the fight and what is not, and practice certain moves. There's a strange balletic movement to all of this, and it is endlessly fascinating.

This was easily one of the greatest films of the past year, and it's a shame it didn't get as much recognition as it deserved. But it is not the underdog-conquers-all storyline that some think it is. I have a feeling that while Randy wins the rematch, he won't be basking in glory for much longer. Rocky this is not.

''I'm an old broken down piece of meat and I deserve to be all alone, I just don't want you to hate me.''

A drama centered on retired professional wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson as he makes his way through the independent circuit...

Mickey Rourke: Randy 'The Ram' Robinson

Darren Aronofsky has always been a Director whom has been close to my heart. Whether it was the film that blew my world away, the much loved The Fountain, or the cryptic puzzler Pi, or the emotionally entrancing Requiem for a Dream, whether it's any of these Darren always proves to be a man of vision. Why am I not surprised Aronofsky's latest, The Wrestler proves to be equally successful? It's because it's a firestorm of truth, a blur of sophistication and a hurricane of a man's struggle with his career and life.
Which is essentially a question of stop doing what you love and die, or keep doing it and go out doing the thing you love most.



Let's just say Mickey Rourke was born to play this part, Mickey is in my eyes The Ram, he envelopes the part and engulfs it as his own. It's magical, wondrous and dazzling without even breaking a sweat. The Wrestler isn't just about wrestling, but about a man, about this living, breathing being, whom is alone, and lonely. His passion is his hope, his hope is life and when his daughter doesn't want to know, and a potential new love of his life, he is a broken man. He has only one thing left, and age and a bad heart have caught up with him, he has to go back to the only thing he knows.
Rourke embodies the struggle Randy faces, and we're along every step of the way as he fights not just in the ring but outside of it also. I find myself in love with everything Rourke does, every syllable he mutters, every breath he takes. This is the role he was born for, he shines, and a film about Mickey is begging to be made.

''The eighties fucking ruled, man, until that pussy Cobain came and fucked it all up.''

Another shining light of The Wrestler is the gorgeous music by Clint Mansell, using a combination of rock and heavy composites, with dazzling results. Shots are used effectively albeit shakily, different to anything Aronofsky has ever done. The backward shooting of Rourke or his daughter is used effectively, as done in a part of Dark Knight, and numerous video games. It's an original way of panning and capturing a moment or series of events.
Acting wise Mickey Rourke is backed up by a wonderful array of fellow Wrestlers and fans. Not to mention two Actresses whom shine for this film and story.
Marisa Tomei as Cassidy really acts to perfection in this, also showing a duality mutual respect for strippers too, in the fact, that what they do is hard work too. Wrestling maybe hard, but pole dancing and dancing also is a complex grueling task. Her performance and chemistry with Rourke boosts this film into the stratosphere of love and new found love. The way she helps him find his daughter a present or the fact she cares enough about him to meet him outside of work is heart achingly real.
Evan Rachel Wood as Stephanie Robinson, plays the estranged daughter of Randy all too well. Shes resentful, hurt and mad at him, in the sense he hasn't been much of a father to her. Many of us may take her dispositon towards him as unpleasant but understandable considering her life without her father's influence. As he faces his heart complication, a chance for a rekindled bond between them emerges, and a one to one presents a new awakening for their love for one another. This however is short lived, as one thing leads to another and Randy let's her down yet again. A scene with the pair on the beach, gives us one of the most moving parts between a father and daughter.

Overall, The Wrestler is a very powerful film about love, passion and loneliness. A love for something you can't live without, a life that knows Wrestling, that sacrifice is not an option,where anything is possible no matter what the consequence. Mickey Rourke is the reason to see this film, his performance is the best of his career, his Sin City gravelly voice is a pleasure to hear and his body the pinnacle of experience and ripe for this role. Darren Aronofsky and Rourke etch out a place in time for a notch in greatness, the ending being one that leaves what happens, up to our imaginations, and Darren knows this is the cleverest way to play upon us. For leaving it open to suggestion and discussion, is to envision and emblazon one thing to us, and that is a message of hope.

''In this life you can lose everything you love, everything that loves you. Alot of people told me that I'd never wrestle again, the only one that's gonna tell me when I'm through doing my thing, is you people here.''