Made back in 2008, this movie made quite the splash. This was a movie that had ramifications for not only movies, but also sparked some controversy in the world of professional wrestling. So much so, that professional wrestler Chris Jericho and The Wrestler star Mickey Rourke had an on air feud in a televised interview.
The world of professional wrestling for many years had a cloak of anynomity around it. That was not only for many of the shady dealings professional wrestlers did, but also a necessary element of storytelling. In the wrestling business they call it kayfabe. The rest of us know it as the "suspension of disbelief". It's with kayfabe we believe a guy can be lifted up by the neck and slammed down or another could be hit with a chair and not have his brains scrambled.
Perticularly in the '90s but more so in the 2000s, professional wrestling has largely eroded the idea of kayfabe. In the '90s there was the rise of "hardcore" or "extreme" wrestling. Now wrestlers were using barbed wire or thumbtacks to really injure each other, but most of the audience had become wise to this ultra violence. Wrestling's dirty little secret was out. It's all a show. It wasn't "real." And in the 2000s, reality tv was huge.
With the rise of "extreme" wrestling came some very real consequences. In the 1980s, drugs and steroids were everywhere. And later on in the 2000s the drugs were still there but so were mounting "real" injuries from taking too many chair shots to the head or flying through flimsy tables from 30 foot ladders.
A large string of wrestlers suddenly started dying in their early 40s. Stars like Eddie Guerrero, Chris Kanyon, Davey Boy Smith, Lance Cade, Curt Hennig, and Brian Pillman just to name a few. Probably no deaths more high profile than those of Owen Hart and Chris Benoit.
For those unaware, in the 90s high spots were used to dazzle audiences. Owen Hart ended up falling from the rafters after an equipment malfunction. The story goes that his harness took too long to take off after propelling down to the ring. And they wanted Owen to do a prat fall from the harness to emphasize his bafoonish superhero character, The Blue Blazer. So, it was rigged to release with a button. And that's what happened to Owen about 78 feet above the ring... on live PPV.
The tragedy of Chris Benoit comes not only from his death, but from the others that died with him. Chris Benoit had severe brain damage from many years in the business and one day he flipped out and killed his wife, his 7 year-old son, and then himself.
This movie plays into those kinds of tragedies. Randy "The Ram" is a broken down, washed up wrestler who really has no other skills, abilities, or outlet in life other than wrestling. He has an estranged daughter, a drug habit, and just can't seem to realize his time in the spotlight is over. He has constant money issues and puts his body through these horrible "extreme" matches or nickel and dime events paying him a couple hundred bucks a night.
The Wrestler is a dramatic look at the pitfalls of being a professional performer. Once Randy's time at the top was done, he just couldn't let go of the lifestyle. Others like Randy's wrestling rival "The Ayatollah" went on to have some sucess in business and seemed happy being away from the ring. This all leads to the climax of the movie where Randy throws away everything in his life outside of wrestling and had one more match.
The ending of the movie is a bit open-ended. It cuts to black just as Randy goes off the top rope to finish the match. Leading the audience to decide for themselves if he died or not. My personal opinion is that the movie is much stronger if he did die. This was a guy that despite his best efforts always found a way to screw up his life. But the one thing he was supremely good at was wrestling. He ruined things with his daughter, he often tried to begin a relationship with a stripper only to be shot down, he tried to work a normal 9 to 5 job and he just couldn't take the embarrassment of being that guy at the deli counter when he used to sell out Madison Square Garden. So, he finally just said to hell with it all and he was going to get in the ring despite a weakened heart. He went in to that ring because he just didn't have or want anything else in his life. He wanted to die. He went into that match trying to kill himself.
I feel that this movie is very powerful, tragic, and loaded with acting talent. Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei were just sensational. Every time they were on stage they were magnetic. If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend it. But be warned, this isn't for anyone looking to feel happy or have a sense of hope.
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