The Wrestler

Every one is talking about the come-back of Mickey Rourke, and as triumphant and touching as his performance is, i just don't see this as a comeback, i mean he was great in Sin City and he has been in a few big movies since then so he was always there.

Anyway, Mickey Rourke plays Randy 'the ram' Robinson a wrestler who like Rourke had his hey day back in the 80's. The film starts with the ram receiving a paltry sum of money for his latest match only to discover that he has been locked out of his trailer home because he has run behind on his rent. We, the audience, cant help but immediately feel for him and we begin to discover how lonely he has become. He realises that he is getting older and may not be able to wrestle for much longer but wrestling is the only thing he is good at and in that ring is the only place where he feels alive.

We get a kind of behind the scenes look at the wrestling world, behind the glitz and fireworks and story lines ,we see men who thrive of the adrenaline from the audience and push their bodies to the limits each time they are in that ring, It's brutal. And the direction of these wrestling matches are superbly executed and Rourke's physical performance and look is outstanding.

It's a simple story but is brought magnificently to life by the performances that the director Darren Aronofsky managed to get from his actor's. Marisa Tomei as Cassidy is also on brilliant form and her character has parallels with Rourke's the Ram. She is an ageing stripper who also realises that her career is coming to an end but unlike the Ram she at least has some kind of plan as to where she wants to go with her life. the pair have a strange relationship through out the movie partly due to her rule of ''not getting involved with a customer'' but you just know that she cares for his well being.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, It feels so real and as a wrestling fan it made me respect these athletes so much more. A gritty, funny, touching and sometimes depressing, an excellent movie that i can highly recommend.