Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

The Wrestler (2008)

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Time Out rating

Average user rating

36 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

After ‘The Fountain’, Darren Aronofsky has something to prove. It’s a question of reliability: can Aronofsky suppress the subversive tendencies which resulted in ‘Pi’ and ‘Requiem for a Dream’ and put together a commercially viable but artistically satisfying picture?

Narratively, ‘The Wrestler’ is solid, even unspectacular. It uses its central character – Mickey Rourke’s ex-WWF champ Randy ‘the Ram’ Robinson – as a baseline from which to explore a familiar tale of loss and renewal. Writer Robert D Siegel takes the obvious option at most turns – throwing in an estranged kid here, a stripper girlfriend there.

It’s lucky, then, that ‘The Wrestler’ gets everything else right. Aronofsky directs with unfussy candour, alternating between the intensity of the wrestling and the drabness of Randy’s ‘real’ life. His biggest contribution is to stand aside and let Rourke go to work: the embodiment of the middle-aged comeback kid, it would have been easy for Rourke to play the Ram as a version of himself. But while the role is loaded, Rourke never coasts, delivering a committed, sympathetic portrait of a humble man cornered by bad decisions.

Perhaps because it’s his voice we hear over the closing credits, ‘The Wrestler’ has been likened to Springsteen: both employ familiar, even old- fashioned elements, but both manage to spin them into something meaningful through sheer quality of craftsmanship and emotional investment in the material. That this material is a little stale disappoints, but this is rendered irrelevant by Aronofsky’s direction and Rourke’s performance.

Author: Tom Huddleston

Time Out London Issue 2004, 15-21 Jan, 2009

Email Tweet Share

User reviews of this film

mary said...

Posted on Apr 27 2010 13:29 Great movie if Marisa Tomei wasnt in it she was so annoying with her sweeky voice and nasty ways

Report as inappropriate
Chris said...

Posted on Jan 22 2010 22:22 Mickey Rourke blew me away with this brilliant performance. Surpasses everything he's done, including Angel Heart.

Report as inappropriate
skeptical said...

Posted on Aug 26 2009 14:22 A true art work and very high quality film, unfortunately it requires some taste and intelligence that most movie goers do not poseess. A little gem, went and bought straight awsy to add on my classics. BY FAR THE BEST FILM OF THE YEAR, but Slumcrap Boolionaire had that mass appeal.

Report as inappropriate
Tony Palmer said...

Posted on Jun 02 2009 15:40 This was a dull film. 1/3 of the way in I felt like turning it off. As the film ended I wish i had....

Report as inappropriate
John Cooper said...

Posted on Apr 10 2009 12:56 A beautiful movie . . . . . Athough ostensibly about
`the wrestler,` the film successfully deals with universal
themes . . . ageing, loneliness and human yearning for
identity and recognition. Both Mickey Rourke and
Marisa Tomei give outstanding,committed performances which touch the heart and leave a resonance long after the film finishes. It is also a truly original film and viewers
should ignore negative comments such as `stale` or `cliched` as this is a beautifully structured film which
manages to be optimistic and realistic at the same time,
eschewing political correctness and leaving viewerst o make their own judgements. Lap-dancing and wrestling
my not be your `cup of tea` but this film successfully
delineates the `humanity` of its characters, without
being sentimental or over-critical. Without doubt, a compelling, sublime, and `achingly human` movie.

Report as inappropriate
CMLT said...

Posted on Feb 24 2009 15:07 Hi, I'm female & I saw this by accident with a friend. Wanted to see Vicky Cristina Barcelona but was starting to late..Anyhow, I loved it.My friend didnt like it but I found it surprisingly touching..In the words of Time Out: "But while the role is loaded, Rourke never coasts, delivering a committed, sympathetic portrait of a humble man cornered by bad decisions." That's what I found touching. The simple story of a humble man and of a certain America that people hardly see..to me it just says that it's not because these guys are poor, uneducated and made bad choices that they are bad people & shd be despised. I found the camera showed this poor guy's life with a lot of compassion and respect ..and it showed that distress, misery and rejection don't only exist in the 3rd world. Maybe we should take a good look at our Western societies and values and at all the misery on our doorstep..I guess some people hated this film partly because that made them uncomfortable in their selfishness.. This film left me with a feeling of immense sadness..and if it managed to make me feel & think so much then the director and the actor must had done something right. Rourke deserved the Oscar.

Report as inappropriate
deb said...

Posted on Feb 16 2009 05:35 I want to say that this is one horrible show....waste of money...waste of time and definitely not a 'date' movie. My mind felt like someone had thrown in a tire iron into the wheels of my mind.....has hollywood become infected with the 'deep' virus from Canada or was this just a horrible boring can't believe that the sex did nothing for me .......absolutely awful move....melt down the gold and give it to the lady who we will never see with her clothes on.........yuck

Report as inappropriate
Gatsby said...

Posted on Feb 14 2009 20:31 "A little stale" is a considerable understatement. This tedious drivel filches clichés from every boxing film since the 'talkies' began. 'The Champ', anyone?

Report as inappropriate
uk said...

Posted on Feb 13 2009 19:13 perfect day -u will never qualify for that status dream on =and it makes you envious of ed norton -that makes me really pity your boyfriend -what a real ..... you are -lolz
i think ed norton loves the fact you hate him so much as you are wothy of a liaison with the mickey rourkes only -now what did he do to you to make you so ecstatic -i can guess but it it will not be decent to display that conjecture here as your employers might get pissed off -lolz

Report as inappropriate
Boldeazy said...

Posted on Feb 12 2009 23:55 It is a brilliant film with amazing and meaningful performance of Mickey Rourke. Just read on the interviews and background stories. Note the original Guns n Roses track is quite rare as well.
Big up for Aronofsky to make it happen. Very sensitive in all dimensions I can imagine, no matter if you fan of US wrestling or not. (I'm not).

Report as inappropriate
PERFECT DAY said...

Posted on Feb 11 2009 08:06 UK - I bet you wish Ed Norton was the wrestler in this film. You naughty boy! How is your boyfriend?

Report as inappropriate
uk said...

Posted on Feb 10 2009 20:41 there is nothing anyone has written on this movie or even shown me in the trailer to even intrigue me to think about watching it -it looks drab and dull and redundant too -and i think most of us think the same as the box office is demonstrating itself-
doesnt matter what awards you give it -this year people arent even watching those crap events .
wake up showbiz

Report as inappropriate
Marsellus said...

Posted on Feb 10 2009 15:06 One word - awesome. From the realistic, girtty directing to Rourke's powerhouse performance - everything about this film is brilliant. It is the crime of the year that this film was not nominated for Best Film. The people below giving this film 1 star clearly have no taste whatsoever. Ignore them.

Report as inappropriate
CJ said...

Posted on Feb 08 2009 20:11 laughed out loud several time, not because the movie was funny but because I couldn't believe how utterly ridiculous this film was. There goes 2 hours of my life I will never get back.

Report as inappropriate
Gavin said...

Posted on Feb 04 2009 13:00 wanted a refund - waste of time and money
cannot understand why all of the above enjoy and this won an award

Report as inappropriate