I am very unsure about how to start talking about The Wrestler [perhaps because I have waited nearly a week to write this]. I guess I will just jump into the plot.
Randy 'The Ram' Robinson (Mickey Rourke) is a wrestler who lived his glory days as a wrestler in the 80s and now he is just trying to live the rest of his days...never letting the past get too far away. Randy continues to wrestler when he can, though it is clearly taking a toll on his body, and he also works a second job which allows him to barely make rent for his trailer. We see Randy looking quite at home in the ring, even when the ring is in a local rec centre. However, whenever Randy is in the 'real world' he seems uneasy. After a particularly grueling match, in which staples were involved, Randy suffers a heart attack and wakes up in the hospital after surgery. Randy is informed that he is not to wrestler anymore. From here Randy must struggle with the new life that has been assigned to him. he moves to working at the meat counter at the grocery store...dealing with customers and everything. I must say that I thought he was a good deli counter guy. For awhile anyway. Randy also takes this opportunity to try and reconcile with his daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood). As a peace offering he buys her a hideous green jacket, that only a father like Randy could like, and they actually spend some time together. Unfortunately, it is not long before he screws up. The scenes between Randy and Stefanie are quite emotional, and they really help to add another dimension to the story. In one particularly heartbreaking line to his daughter, Randy says, "I'm an old broken down piece of meat and I deserve to be all alone, I just don't want you to hate me." *tear*
Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), the local friendly stripper, is going through a parallel situation. She has made her living from her body and now her body is failing her (in that her customers find her age unappealing). Though really she is still smokin' hot. In Randy's attempt to retire from wrestling, he tries to build a relationship with Cassidy. In a way they seem to be a natural pair; as they both hate the 90s, love the 80s, and can no longer do what they know. My only complaint about Cassidy's character is that we do not get to see more of her story independent from her scenes with Randy.
Randy tries his best to live his new life as the meat counter guy, but can never get his mind off wrestling. Before his heart attack a rematch was scheduled between him and The Ayatollah (they had had a famous match years earlier). It was supposed to be a last chance to truly relive his glory days. In a last minute kind of epiphany, Randy decides that he must wrestler one last time. Before the match Randy gives a wonderful speech talking about how he has been told that he is washed up and has basically become irrelevant. However, as long as the fans show up he is going to keep going because the fans are his family. END OF MOVIE SPOILER IN WHITE: During the match it is clear that he is struggling to continue. He manages to finish the fight, and his life, by climbing the ropes for one final Ram Jam.
I feel the need to say that I am not a wrestling fan. It is one of those things that I just don't find entertaining. However, not being a fan of wrestling or not knowing much about it does not make this movie any less interesting. I was lucky enough to sit next to someone who is a wrestling fan, so I was informed whenever an actual wrestler was on screen.
This seems to have gotten kind of long, but I have one last thing to say. I loved the style of the movie. The Wrestler, to oversimplify, is a really depressing story. Because the subject is wrestling, it would have made sense to go all glossy and cheesy in presenting the story. Instead the movie is showing the real gritty side of things and the style definitely reflects that. The audience spends several minutes throughout the movie watching the back of Randy's head as he walks and grunts and struggles through his life. Mickey Rourke absolutely deserved his Golden Globe, and an Oscar would certainly not be out of the question.
The Wrestler gets three kernels [I was initially considering two kernels, but in writing about it I realized how much I actually liked it...the movie grows on you] - amazing acting and a story that transcends wrestling.
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