The Wrestler: Review By Josh

The Wrestler is probably Aronofsky's most accessible film to date; vastly stylistically different from The Fountain and Requiem For A Dream, yet it retains the fundamental dynamic character arc of those previous films. Mickey Rourke revisits his own dark past as he plays to perfection Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a washed-up wrestler trying to make ends meet. Randy is a man who, like many athletes, is only good at one thing, and while he tries his hardest to be a family man, he just doesn't know how. Aronofsky juxtaposes Randy with Pam, a local dancer in whom Randy finds a confidante. The two are more alike than either of them realize: they are both in the twilight of their careers, they're both prostituting their bodies for others' entertainment (he, violently, and she, sexually), and they both live professionally under a pseudonym, distancing themselves from their true selves. The difference is that Randy's reality IS the ring; he wants to live his real life as The Ram; Pam, conversely, is using her job as a means, not an end. But where the film's greatness lies is in not spelling out either character's choice as the "right" path. Randy defies what some of the audience will feel is common sense, but at the same time he allows himself to remain a hero to the people he doesn't end up disappointing.

Another aspect I liked is the respect Aronofsky has for professional wrestling. This is old-school style wrestling, before ridiculous plotlines and gratuitous misogyny took over. It portrays the "sport" for what is is as a display of athletic finesse that takes a toll on the players' bodies and lives.

One of the year's best.

Best Picture non-nomination aside, The Academy really blew it on failing to even nominate Springsteen's "The Wrestler" for Original Song even after it won the Golden Globe.