June 9 2023

"The Wrestler" is an incredibly powerful and emotional film that will leave you both shaken and inspired. The film explores themes of aging, masculinity, and the sacrifices that people make for their passions. As you can imagine this one his pretty close to the heart here.

Now I don't hear as good as I used to and I forget stuff and I ain't as pretty as I used to be but god damn it I'm still standing here and I'm The Ram. As times goes by, as times goes by, they say "he's washed up", "he's finished" , "he's a loser", "he's all through". You know what? The only one that's going to tell me when I'm through doing my thing is you people here. You people here... you people here. You're my family. - Randy "The Ram"

The story follows Randy "The Ram" Robinson. Randy was at the peak of his career in the 1980s. However, years of substance abuse, poor financial choices, and a failed personal life have left his career in shambles. He works part-time in a grocery store, lives in a trailer park, and performs at small wrestling events to make ends meet. Randy is a man desperately clinging on to his past glory and living every moment in pain due to his injuries and substance abuse. One day, Randy has a heart attack during a match and is advised by the doctor to retire for good.

However, Randy cannot give up the only thing he knows how to do in life, so he tries to make a comeback. He reconnects with his estranged daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood), and attempts to rekindle his romance with Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), a stripper who has become his friend. Randy's personal struggles with addiction, regret, and loneliness are magnified by the rigors of wrestling and fame, as he grapples with whether to continue chasing his dreams or accept the societal pressures that lurk outside the wrestling arena and hang up his boots for good.

Randy is given an opportunity to revive his career when a promoter offers him the chance to participate in a 20th-anniversary rematch with his arch-nemesis, the Ayatollah, played by Ernest "The Cat" Miller. Randy realizes that he has one last shot at redemption and agrees to perform despite major health issues. Randy is a broken man, but he can't help but return to the ring because wrestling is the only thing that has ever given him meaning.

The climax of the movie is the rematch with the Ayatollah, which takes a serious toll on Randy's body. The Wrestler ends with Randy diving off the top rope, with his fate and the future of his life and career left unanswered. Though Eric, and many wrestlers like him, believe that Randy dies here in the one place he ever felt he was loved and "belonged". He chooses to die a spectacle, in front of the family that loved him, rather than a lonely man in a world he feels no kinship with.

The film is a sobering and unflinching look into the life of an aging wrestler, highlighting the physical and mental toll that professional wrestling can take on performers and the struggle some face living a "normal" life of relative anonymity after years of fame and fortune. As well as a poignant tale of regret, failures, and the universal human desire to find redemption.

The dark, gritty cinematography lends the film a sense of melancholy, yet finds hope and humanity in its characters. Rourke's performance as Randy is both powerful and nuanced, conveying the heartbreak and desperation of a man who is struggling to hold onto his glory days. He conveys the pain and struggle of the character with incredible authenticity, and you can't help but feel for him as he tries to make a life on his own terms.

It doesn't a fairy tale ending, though I suppose the final interpretation is left to you the viewer. With that said it is worth your time to give this a watch.

Good Night Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea. God Bless.