BoardChiri
Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay
Sarita Rafferty
There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Staci Frederick
Blistering performances.
Tweetienator
Mickey Rourke's resurrection as an actor by playing Randy 'The Ram' Robinson in The Wrestler. A great piece about aging, loneliness, regrets, and finally atonement, reconciliation, finding peace and dignity.Darren Aronofsky shows us life as it is with characters from everyday life on the "loser's sidewalk" of life. A great drama embedded in the world of the circus of small-scale wrestling, trailer parks, and small town suburbs and small dreams. The Wrestler, next to The Fountain my favorite movie of Mr. Aronofsky. Masterpiece.
Dominic LeRose
Mickey Rourke's performance in "The Wrestler" is truly mesmerizing. Rarely do we see actors so immersed in their character and rarely do we feel as badly as we do for his character. He plays Randy "The Ram," a washed-up and lonely pro wrestler whose life has fully collapsed. His strained relationship with his daughter haunts him as he seeks for connection with the people around him. "The Wrestler" is a powerful character study about acceptance and obsession, what we'll do to find meaning in the world and how much it takes before we have to let go. Darren Aronofsky doesn't do anything special as a director here. The film is completely guided by Rourke's amazing performance. He and co-star Marisa Tomei are phenomenal and leave you with heavy hearts long after the credits role.
rdoyle29
There is nothing startlingly original here. The story of a has-been hanging on to past glory has been done a million times, and here it's largely constructed with stock characters ... a stripper with a heart of gold, an alienated daughter ... we've seen it before. What makes this gem stand out is the remarkable lead performance by Rourke ... among other things, one of the best physical performances I have seen in a drama ... his amazing supporting cast (Marisa Tomei in particular), and Aronofsky's surprisingly restrained, realistic treatment of the material.
grantss
An aging professional wrestler, Randy "The Ram" Robinson (played by Mickey Rourke) is well past his prime as a wrestler but clings to memories of his heyday. He also still believes he has what to takes to continue wrestling. Meanwhile his relationship with his daughter is very cold. Then he has a health scare...Amazing. One of the most moving movies I have ever seen. Right up there with movies like Million Dollar Baby and Lost In Translation in terms of emotional content and character exploration.Mickey Rourke deserves all the accolades for his acting performance - he is superb - but Marisa Tomei is excellent too, as is Evan Rachel Wood. Darren Aronofsky's direction is spot-on and the story is incredible.
