The Wrestler is the story of a great comeback. As we spend the next few months shuffling through awards season, it won’t be so clear as to whose comeback it actually is. The least obvious of choices is director Darren Aronofsky who, after the critical and commercial failure of The Fountain, needed something special to get back on track. Both in style and theme, The Wrestler is a complete departure. It’s the understated masterpiece that no one knew he was capable of making.  Comeback accomplished! 
 
The more obvious comeback is that of Rourke. Was he really gone though?  Weren’t we singing the same “comeback” song when he hacksawed his way into our hearts as Marv in Sin City? The true comeback story of course is that of the wrestler himself. There’s just something so naturally interesting and relatable about the tragic tale of Randy The Ram, a one-time legendary professional wrestler trying desperately to hold on to his glory days.
 
The theme may scare some folks away, because as we all know - wrestling is fake.  Even though this is common knowledge it’s one of those things where most people, once they’re done laughing at the antics and costumes, are willing to acknowledge the ability and athleticism required to put oneself through that kind of hell. I grew up on Hulk Hogan and the Macho Man throwing epic elbows and snapping it to Slim Jims. The worst thing you’d see in the ring back then was the occasional folding chair unfolded over someone’s back.  These days the fights start with barbed wire bats already in the ring.  The Wrestler gave me a new appreciation of what these professionals go through, but also of how much pain a staple gun can inflict on an old man’s back.
 
When an unexpected illness forces The Ram into retirement, the long-time loser tries to pick up the pieces.  He succumbs to a job he knows he’ll hate and tries to make real efforts reconnecting with the estranged daughter he’d spent years trying to forget as well as his best friend, a stripper named Cassidy, in a setting other than one where she’s required to show him her nipples. Every bit of watching Randy deal with life after wrestling is fascinating and unexpected, but it’s the scenes between father and daughter that will be highlighting Rourke’s Oscar reel.  What’s on display here is exactly the kind of gut-wrenching conflict that’s easy to award.

I was surprised at what The Ram found when he retreated into a life without wrestling.  It’s nice when a movie that should be so predictable can offer up a few nice surprises.  Even if they are uncomfortable ones.  The result is a rewarding look at a very complicated individual who offers us either hope for the future or confirmation that we’re wasting on our lives.  Either way that’s a pretty powerful stuff from a movie about a man that wears tights and play fights for a living. 

Verdict | Watch It!  10 out of 10!