I'm a big fan of Aronofsky's films anyway, films like Pi, Requiem for a Dream and the criminally underrated The Fountain really are quite beautiful, depressing and touching.
The Wrestler carries on the tradition of Aronofsky working with Clint Mansell, former guitarist of Pop Will Eat Itself, who conducts the soundtrack of the piece, minus the title song 'The Wrestler' by Bruce 'the boss' Springsteen.
The Wrestler focuses its story on the former great wrestler Randy 'The Ram' Robinson, and how he deals with his fall from grace from the heights of professional wrestling.
The opening credits sequence shows photos, flyer's and reviews of Randy's former glory, fighting against opponents in front of crowds of 20,000 people, which brings us up to present day, with a broken down Randy fighting in public halls and school auditoriums.
Lines are drawn between the 'real world' and the world of wrestling, and also between the world of stripping and the 'real world'. Randy's on/off girlfriend Cassidy/Pam, is torn between the rules of the establishment where she works and her feelings for Randy back in the real world.
The supporting cast is also fantastic, Evan Rachel Wood is the Ram's estranged daughter, Stephanie. The love interest of Cassidy/Pam is played by Marisa Tomei.
Mickey Rourke has been nominated for an Oscar for his performance as Randy 'The Ram', and is totally deserving. People might think he has been cast because of his ability to look like a wrestler, applying the muscle and training regime to make the scenes in the ring look realistic, but the limited amount of time spent in the ring only serves to amplify Rourke's performance of a once great wrestler trying to get by in the world, doing the thing that he loves most, no matter what it does to his body. The grunts and moans of pain all seem to come from the experiences of Rourke, though it's doubtful that he has ever been stapled in the chest. The moments of tenderness and love he shares with his daughter and his stripper girlfriend look lived out by Rourke. The moment at the beach with his daughter his totally moving and sums up the whole movie, again the moments between Rourke and Tomei are too few, and I for one would have loved to see more of them together discussing the err of Nirvana.
I really enjoyed The Wrestler, Rourke's performance is staggering and I might put £20 on him to win the Oscar.
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