The Wrestler (2008)

Academy Awards, USA 2009

Nominated Oscar	Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Mickey Rourke
	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Marisa Tomei

Fox Searchlight Pictures
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb
(HDNet Movies)

Aging wrestler Mickey Rourke working the small time circuit reaches a turning point when he has a heart attack after a match. He reaches out to stripper Marissa Tomei, but she has trouble separating her working persona from real life, a problem he also struggles with. He also attempts to reconnect with his teenage daughter Evan Rachel Wood, but after initial success it falls apart. He eventually turns to the ring and his adoring fans as his only solace. Rourke and Tomei are excellent, though Wood's turn as the spiteful teen is a little over dramatic. Filmed in a documentary style that places the back of Rourke's head as the centerpiece of many shots gets a bit tiresome. Nonetheless, deep characters that you can care about keep it from sinking into some kind of reality TV pit. A nice return to form for Aronofsky after the disappointing The Fountain.