Film: The Wrestler
Cast includes: Mickey Rourke (Desperate Hours), Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny), Evan Rachel Wood (King of California)
Director: Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream)
Genre: Gritty drama
In brief: Randy “The Ram” is a trying-not-to-be-over-the-hill wrestler working every third-rate venue his promoter can line up. Wrestling is his life… one brutal match after another. In one particularly grisly match, Randy is assaulted with a staple gun, barbed wire and assorted furniture. Back in the dressing room, after the staples are pulled out and barbed wire gashes are treated, Randy suffers a new kind of pain… the kind that lands him in the hospital for heart surgery. Warned that his fighting days are over, Randy needs to restart his life… without wrestling.
There’s nothing glossy or slick about this film. It’s gritty, brutal, emotional and… I don’t want to give anything away… but it’s not a feel-good movie. If you enjoy wrestling, you’ll enjoy this film. The exceptionally good acting may make this movie worthwhile even for a non-wrestling fan. But you’re likely to come away emotionally drained.
If you’re thinking of a career change… becoming a professional wrestler… please, please, please see this movie before you do anything rash.
2 popped kernels
Popped kernels for the acting, which was amazing. Unpopped kernels for making me want to go shoot myself.
