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Watched "The Wrestler" tonight, starring Mickey Rourke in a tender performance as a man who knows only one thing and he lets that thing, wrestling, control his life. Even after he is told to give up the sport (because of a heart attack) he dreams of the ring and the life he had. Rourke is heartbreaking and funny and reminds us what a great actor he can be. As much as I loved his performance, I was just as impressed with Marisa Tomei as the love interest. This was the first role I've seen her in in a long time that felt real; natural. The script had all the hallmarks of a cliched "Rocky" type movie (stripper with a heart of gold, abandoned daughter who hates her long lost dad), but the writer and director Darren Aronofsky used those cliches as starting points and tried to take the story in a different direction than what you'd expect.

This is a great movie. And it had Springsteen's sensational title song that plays over the end credits.

Comments

Eric said…
Dangit, I still want to see that flick! Mickey Rourke is looking more an more inhuman every year, but I still love watching him onscreen--you never know when he'll surprise you.
3:02 PM
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