Movie Review: The Wrestler

Let me just say to begin that I had no interest in seeing this movie. I don't really like Mickey Rourke or wrestling, but as it continued to gain award nominations and then a win for Rourke at the Golden Globes, I just couldn't resist anymore. The final outcome: I was very pleasantly surprised. While I went into it expecting it to just be about an old, washed up wrestler, I quickly realized it was about so much more than that. It is actually, surprisingly, a beautifully crafted examination of three people searching for significance. Mickey Rourke plays a pro wrestler whose body is not really allowing him to do what it used to and whose soul finds no home or comfort outside of the ring. His family is the audience and his friends are the fans. Marisa Tomei plays a stripper who is also finding herself in a profession dominated by a younger generation. And Evan Rachel Wood plays Rourke's daughter who is broken by his absence in her life. While none of those things may sound particularly appealing to you, I would just say that they didn't to me either, but I found myself drawn to all of them. I cared about what was happening to them and I fought back tears in the end. It's strangely affecting and I definitely recommend it.