The Wrestler: Oy, the wrestling!

I have create a new personal movie-watching rule: if I am forced to close my eyes for more than a couple passing moments, I am not going to recommend that others rush out to see it. New rule in place, yes Mickey Rourke does a fine job, but you're not missing too much if you decide to skip The Wrestler.

The title character played by Rourke is a wrestler so naturally there is some wrestling in the film which, although I'm not a wrestling fan, is watchable and somewhat entertaining. The behind-the-scene moments where the wrestlers work out how to stage each match makes it more interesting because you get a real view of their world. However, when one wrestler introduces the idea of a staple gun and you're forced to keep your eyes closed for 10-15 minutes, that's where I draw the line. Such extreme violence may make sense in showing just how far Rourke's character will go but I would never call that interesting or entertaining.

So that's just 10-15 minutes you might say, what about the rest of the film? Well Rourke does a good job bringing the character to life but he's a not too bright man who makes somewhat questionable choices. He also leads a very lonely, depressing life and surrounds himself with other lonely, depressing people, including Marisa Tomei's stripper character. Tomei is fine I suppose but her part mainly consists of being mostly naked for extended sequences - a bonus for some perhaps but not for me. Everyone's relationship with each other is strained so you only get scene after scene of heartbreak which is a bit too much to take by the end. The end of the film too just left me so depressed that I could not take any positive feelings from the experience. If you're dying to see why everyone's hyping up Mickey Rourke then give it a go but when you leave with a cloud over your head don't say I didn't warn you.

P.S. The one thing that consistently intrigued me from the film's preview was the use of Bruce Springsteen's new song "The Wrestler." It doesn't make its appearance in the film however until the closing credits at which point I was already lost. Better to buy the song on iTunes and listen to it without the film.