Movie Review: The Wrestler

Well quite simply this is the best movie I have seen in the past year, and would be my vote for best picture, though I have not seen all the nominees. As you may know by reading my reviews in the past that I care much more about great characters than i do about a great story. I movie can be good with an average story and great characters. I can name a lot of examples of that with There Will Be Blood coming to mind. However I do not feel you can have a good movie with out interesting characters even if the story is wonderful. This movie is about a Wrestler, who is passed his prime. That is quite possible the easiest review I have done for a movie. That is what this movie is about, however what makes this movie so fascinating is seeing what a man is willing to sacrifice to keep something alive. That something could be a dream, it could be a lifestyle, it could be a relationship. Mickey Rourke plays Randy the "Ram". A wrestler who has seen his star fade. The only other characters in the movie are Marisa Tomei who plays a stripper, who the Ram falls in love with and Evan Rachel Wood, who plays the Ram's daughter whom he is trying to repair there fractured relationship. Rourke and Tomei give oscar winning performances. These are not glamour characters, and they are not likeable in a sense. However the way these characters are portrayed you cannot help but feel so much for them.

Darren Arronofsky directed this masterpiece and if he already wasnt one of the best film makers out there, this will go a long way getting him there. This is shot on mostly hand held cameras, and the look and feel of this movie is amazing. You get the feeling that you have been to some of these same places that they have filmed, everything is so real. Another part of the filmaking I just loved were the shots from behind the characters. You get this a lot in this movie, and I always love this. You get to see through the characters perspective so to speak, and I always feel that this is a great way to shoot. In this film it really allows you to get inside the mind of a proffesional wrestler. There is so much that goes into those 10 minute performances in the arena. These guys tear there bodies down, for the show, for five minutes on the big stage. I truly cannot describe how remarkable I think this movie is. I went to this movie with my brother and he isnt the type to get caught up in a movie, or captivated by a movie, but he was blown away. We both were moved to tears in parts of this movie and I know for him that has not happened before. Go see this movie as soon as you can.