Review: The Wrestler

Note: New reviews coming daily for a few days for supposed Oscar contenders. Consequently, a Top 10 of 2008 coming soon as well.

Wrestling is fake, no? Sure, maybe the thrown punches and body slams are fake, but there is some brutality and a bond of self-mutilation that comes with the territory. Randy "The Ram" Robinson stores a piece of razor in his bandages so he can cut his forehead. He does this while he's down so when he is thrown into the corner it looks like that blow caused his head to bleed. Those chairs aren't fake and the glass is real: You still have to be able to take one hell of a beating to be one of those 'fake wrestlers.'

The Ram is played by Mickey Rourke, who could easily be a wrestler in real life. In the time of the film, The Ram is 20 years past his prime. Yet interestingly enough, little of the movie takes place in the actual wrestling ring. The Ram has a day job stocking a grocery store and on the weekends he works a local wrestling circuit. To everyone who is not a fan, he's a joke. His boss continually cracks jokes. The Ram asks for a raise, and his boss quips, "Did they raise the price on tights?"

The most important thing in Randy's life is, without question, wrestling. He flirts with Cassidy, a 40-something woman who works at a local strip club. She's often passed over because of her age (but let's be honest, it's Marisa Tomei, and she's definitely still a hottie) and it seems Randy is the only one who appreciates her. But he's a customer and she's a mom. She knows stripping is a job and her personal life and work life don't, and cannot, mesh. She is fond of Randy, though, and even helps him reconnect with his estranged daughter.

Randy's daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) is Randy's last hope to have someone in his life as he grows old. But, estranged as she is, she's pissed. She knows her dad is a fuck-up and she knows he shouldn't get another chance. Their relationship, while not taking up a big chunk of screen time, is pivotal and sad. Evan Rachel Wood has teen angst down to an art, here even better than in 'Thirteen.'

Darren Aronofsky, director of the great 'Requiem for a Dream,' mediocre 'Pi,' and horrible 'The Fountain,' manages to change his tone dramatically. While those three films were grim and dealt with supernatural circumstances, 'The Wrestler' is amazingly grounded, both in concept and execution. We never doubt the characters' sincerity in their actions. Oddly, all four films are about obsession, so maybe there is still a running theme.

'The Wrestler' feels like a handful of lofty unachievable dreams pulling its players through the dirt. Wrestling, while it has shaped The Ram's life, now seems to destroy it. But he can't stop. It is who he is. He's a failed father, he's unloved, and the ring is all he has left. He feels at home there, and by the end of the film, we all do too.

Rating: 6.5/7