The Wrestler

I’m a fan of the director of this movie, Darren Aronofsky. He is by far one of the most unique and creative new directors on the scene. With movies like Pi, Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain, he has proven his genius. I must say though The Wrestler was pretty disappointing. I’m not exactly sure why the critics have fallen in love with this movie. To me, it was a slow and tedious journey through the life of a has-been professional wrestler with small moments of impact and insight.

The Wrestler stars Mick, who is of the most hit-and-miss actors of all time. For example, he had hits with “Sin City”, “Angel Heart”, and “Domino”. But then he missed big with “Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man”, “Double team” (with Dennis Rodman and Van Damme), and “Another 9 ½ Weeks”. The fact that this man is up for an Oscar worries me. What has happened to the Academy?

The movie itself tries too hard to get you to like the wrestler. You feel of since of hopelessness, isolation and pity for the man who functions great in the wrestling world but is a big f*ck up in the real world. When the wrestling world begins to collapse around him because of his age, he pretty much has nothing left to live for. Watching the movie is like living through the wrestler’s depression. If you like feeling down, alone and depressed, then this movie is for you, because the small moments of happiness are rare and fleeting.

This is definitely not a main stream movie and I would not recommend it to the populace. But if you like slow, emotional, dark movies then give this one a try.

Rating: 5 out of 10