I just finished watching Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. Wow. This is about as realistic a movie as I’ve seen. There were times when it felt like I was invading this guy’s privacy. The story is about a man with a tragic flaw. All the best protagonists have a tragic flaw – Macbeth and Hamlet both sought vengeance. With Rourke’s character Randy "The Ram" it is only being able to feel valued when he’s getting the crap kicked out of him in the ring.

 

The Ram has no inner sense of value. His complete and utter lack of self-worth drives him to make absolutly terrible relational decisions. He feels completely alone and he knows the world only cares for him when he bleeds for them – otherwise he’s invisible to them. The Ram has become cynical and no longer cares whether he lives or dies. His story intersects with that of Marisa Tomei whose character is an older stripper nearing the end of her days. She is similar to Randy except that she has an outer source of value – a nine year old son to live for and sacrifice for. Tomei does easily as good a job as Rourke in the film but Rourke’s character pushes into excellence on a few occassions – especially when he is attempting to renew a relationship with his daughter played by Evan Rachel Wood.

 

The film is incredibly sad. It is the portrayal of a man whose life is empty and meaningless except when he’s doing that which will ultimately kill him. There is an early scene when Tomei’s character quotes Isaiah 53 "He was wounded for our transgressions, pierced for our iniquities…" She is reminded of the verse by Randy’s experience as an aging wrestler…she calls him a sacrificial Ram jokingly playing on his wrestling name. The film picks up this theme and runs with it till the end when it looks as though Randy will ultimately offer himself on the altar of public popularity.

 

I cannot recommend the film to those under 18. There is nudity and foul language although the director Daron Aronofsky ensures that whenever it occurs it is appropriate to the story and not gratuitous in any sense. The final credits roll to the fantastic new Bruce Springsteen song by the same name as the movie – The Wrestler…very poignant. It is easy to see why Rourke won best actor at the Golden Globes for this film. He really shines in an honest and pained portrayal of a washed up star…something he probably related to when the film was first made.