The Wrestler

The Wrestler from Darron Arnofsky has been getting a lot of good press, so when it opened here, we hustled down the cinema to catch it. First warning, this movie is by Darron Arnofsky, the guy that did Requiem for a Dream and Pi. He doesn't make happy movies. This movie was no exception.

The "wrestler" is Randy "the Ram" an aging pro-wrestler, 20 years past his prime. Think Hulk Hogan, but without the money. Randy is still wrestling on the smaller local circuits, trying to pay his rent and maintain his tan and muscles with the best chemicals money can buy.

Though, still loved by his peers and the fans, his life outside the ring is a mess. His only friend is an aging stripper played by Marisa Tomei. Both are at the end of the line in terms of their ability to continue wrestling/stripping, but it's all they know and neither can escape it. While they share a bond forged around their common businesses, they are both scared by their lives and can't truly come together.

Forced into retiring by a heart attack, Randy takes a job at the meat counter. In true cinema symbolism, he tries to find happiness while giving a pound of flesh to each customer. In the end, he can't escape his desire to be back in the ring for one last time and accepts a rematch with his long time foe/partner from the pay per view days of the 80's.

The acting and cinematography are both first rate. The wrestling is truly impressive, both for the way it exposes how it is faked, and showing the brutality of the falls and blows the wrestlers do take performing the stunts. If you like art movies, then I recommend it heartily. If you don't I do warn that this movie chalked full of all the violence, sex and arty symbolism you can stomach. Enjoy.