The Wrestler: 4 Stars **slight scene spoilers**

I'm going to go in another direction with this movie review blog. I'm going to try to have my posts be more of a reaction to the filmmaking rather than a formal review. The plot, the actors names etc. can all be found on IMD and Rotten tomatoes and I feel like I am avoiding the point by covering all of that information. In the end, the reaction and discussion of the result is all the matters. So hopefully this new format is more helpful. 

I absolutely loved The Wrestler. However, it is definitely not a universally appealing film. That's the thing about art; great art is never appreciated and understood by all, and it shouldn't be. Some artists or scholars will disagree with me on the why of that statement. Some think art shouldn't be personal, as this may blind the artist to a work's true meaning and make it difficult to complete. By being objective and specific it is harder to confuse the intent. With such a specific intent, that will of course turn off people who have no interest in that subject matter. However, I believe that all art, from the extremely personal to the lavishly theatrical, has the same percentage of  natural alienation. So why not invest yourself into your creation? I believe it is the impersonal art that makes it difficult to connect to. It might be more widely understood, but that doesn't mean anyone should care. While it can be just as easily misunderstood or glossed over, I feel personal art results in a more honest and truthful representation of the subject matter and thus a more universal appeal. Why should I invest any emotion or time into something if the creator hasn't invested the same? The artist may have taken the creative time to produce something, but when an artist becomes part of his/her creation a mutual understanding of care is developed between artist and viewer. While the interpretation may be different from that of the artist, the goal of consciousness and introspection is reached and that is all that matters. This personal investment is why Mickey Rourke's performance, and the overall affect of the film, is so outstanding. 

While everyone in the film is great, Rourke as Randy "The Ram" Robinson does truly stand out and is deserved of any accolades stowed upon him. However, lets not forget the director and writer who do have a large part in assisting Rourke to get to this point. First, there is Aronofsky's raw approach. In terms of his previous work think of PI rather than The Fountain. Aronofsky's choice of film instead of digital is excellent. I'm not sure what kind of film he used, or the exact process, but the result has the look of a slightly aged, expired roll of color film. The color is bright, but something seems off, much like The Ram himself. Second, there are some fantastic scenes written for Rourke to excel in. You might think that one of the emotionally revealing scenes shown in the trailers is what I would choose, however I think the smaller everyday scenes are what add more to The Ram's character. Working his day job in a deli, having a beer and reminiscing about the eighties, and one in particular where Randy has nothing better to do than play NES wrestling (as himself) with one of the neighborhood kids. The interaction between the two of them is priceless. 

The Wrestler provides us with a brief vignette from Randy "The Ram" Robinson's troubled life, and probably one of the more important ones. While you will receive no additional information regarding his ex-wife, his estranged daughter, or what he has done in the past to end up where he is now, it really isn't necessary. Think of it as a documentary with no filmmaker intervention. Normal people don't walk around blurting out all the details of their past with people they already know and don't have convenient flashbacks filling in all of the holes. During scenes with his daughter I suppose Randy could have delved deeper into his emotions and his thoughts on their relationship and his relationship with her mother, but then again, I don't think Randy is the kind of person who would do that.