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The Wrestler (March 2009)

From:     Simon Silberman
Category: Films
Date:     26 March 2009
Time:     04:18 AM

Review:

I finally got to see this "instant classic" last night. I bought a dodgy DVD of it from a girl in the pub.  
Everything you've heard about it is true. It really is a great movie.
Robert D Siegelt who wrote the film's screenplay, Darren Aronofksy who directed it, Mickey Rourke 
who plays the central character Robin Ramzinski, (A.K.A Randy "The Ram" Robinson) and even 
Slash from Guns n Roses who does the soundtrack all deliver the goods.
(For those of you who still haven't seen it) "The Ram" was at his peak back in the 1980s. Now he is a 
broken man with a  body that's covered in scars and he relies on painkillers and other drugs to keep 
fighting. As he explains to his daughter Stephanie - "I'm just an old piece of meat that should be 
thrown out into the streets. I don't deserve love I just don't want you to hate me." Even when The Ram 
has a heart attack, moments after winning a fight we realise that fighting in the ring has become his 
addiction and he needs the fix of keeping his fans happy more than anything else. His semi girlfriend 
is  45 year old, a stripper and a single "mom". Towards the end of the film she encourages him that 
for his own safety he should stop wrestling. He tells her it's only in the outside world where he tries to 
patch things up with Stephanie that he gets hurt. The wrestler and the stripper both have a lot in 
common they both have to put up with more than their fair share of humiliation and they are both 
fighting against getting old. There are some funny moments and some very quoteable lines and I'll be 
amazed if you don't cry at the end. The wrestler is a brilliant film. 


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