The Passion of Randy The Ram

First off...the hype surrounding the oscar worthy performance of Micky Rourke and career revival is deserved. His portrayal of aging Wrestler Randy The Ram is heartfelt, honest and raw.
In an age where Best Actor wins go to the likes of Danial Day Lewis or Forrest Whittaker for showstopping, powerhouse characterisations, its refreshing to see an actor strip all the pretense away and give a glimpse of their soul.

The other star of this is director Darron Aronofsky, who delivers a movie very different than the poetic The Fountain or the hyper-reality of Requiem for a Dream. This has a genuine documentary feel to it (and not the nauseating-documentary style that every cop TV show has been using for the last 10 years). Aronofsky's signature shots for the Wrestler have the camera follow Randy around...through the gym, through his workplace, through shops and stores. Maybe Randy's walking away from us, the audience, just as he's walked away from everybody else in his life. Perhaps he's striding towards his destiny (while we follow). Despite this unusually true-to-life feel from the director, he still invests the movie with a subtle spiritual subtext that lifts you out of the hopelessness of Randy's lfe.

Not a movie I'd recommend you rewatch all that often (I need a little more escapism in my movies) but one that I'd hole-heartedly encourage you to experience perhaps once.
It's a haunting piece. Welcome back Micky.