Fresh
It's a wonderful, career-reviving performance, and you can't imagine the movie without him. Welcome back, Mickey.
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
Overview
Aging wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson is long past his prime but still ready and rarin' to go on the pro-wrestling circuit. After a particularly brutal beating, however, Randy hangs up his tights, pursues a serious relationship with a long-in-the-tooth stripper, and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. But he can't resist the lure of the ring and readies himself for a comeback.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
99%
Tomatometer
Fresh
Predictable as it is, this sad, strong beast of a film keeps us pinned to the mat with the strength of its compassion and the overpowering force of its central performance.
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle
Fresh
Aronofsky directs with unfussy candour, alternating between the intensity of the wrestling and the drabness of Randy's 'real' life.
Tom Huddlestone, Time Out
Fresh
The chance to play that poignant confusion is the real prize that Rourke and Tomei earn in The Wrestler.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Fresh
The movie presses too hard and too often, but the performances are strong enough to withstand the melodramatic impulses, and the themes of isolation and self-destructiveness are too sharply realized to be trivialized.
Tom Maurstad, Dallas Morning News
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