“A-” Rating by Robert W. Hammerle

The concept of “luck” was long ago defined by the phrase “preparation meeting opportunity.” For some actors struggling to define themselves in Hollywood, it must seem like opportunity will never arrive. For Mickey Rourke it came from nowhere in the person of director Darren Aronofsky and his special film, “The Wrestler.”

Every decade or so, you see a role come along that is not only larger than life, but mirrors a particular actor’s life. Somehow the stars in the galaxy magically align at time and place where the actor does not so much become the character as the character is the actor. What makes Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” so riveting is the reality that everyone in the audience knows that Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson is in actuality Mickey Rourke.

While this has happened before in the long history of Hollywood, I cannot think of a case where a film has been so viscerally honest in its tragedy and heartache. Certain, the poignant “The Shootist” (1976) was quietly powerful given the fact that it was common knowledge that the great John Wayne was dying of cancer when he filmed it.

The same can be said for “The Misfits” (1961), the last movie ever made by the ailing triumvirate of Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift and Marilyn Monroe. Not only does “Field of Dreams” (1989) remain one of the great male romantic films ever made, but it was the last we saw of the incomparable Burt Lancaster as he walked into the cornfield, a bemused look on his face, as Ray Liotta memorably yelled out to him, “Hey rookie, you were great.”

But as memorable as those movies were, they truly pale in comparison to Mickey Rourke’s wounded portrayal of himself. ‘The Ram’ is a has-been professional wrestler 20 years past his prime. Lonely and all but washed up, he lives in a trailer trying to scrape together a few bucks by living off his past celebrity.

‘The Ram’ has lost nearly everything, and he fully acknowledges that he has no one to blame but himself. His health in shambles from a lifetime of substance abuse, most notably massive injections of anabolic steroids, he is a physical and emotional train wreck.

Rourke gives a devastating performance as a man who has lost nearly everything but a modicum of self-respect. While he is a tragic figure, there is a decency about him that is inescapable. As low as he has sunk on the downside of life’s bell curve, he refreshingly refuses to hide behind phony excuses or alibis. How many people have the strength of character to do the same?

‘The Ram’s’ life basically involves little more than low-rent wrestling matches in third-rate arenas and his patronizing of a strip club where he politely courts Cassidy, a stripper lovingly played by Marisa Tomei. Ms. Tomei is terrific as a single mother who practices her puerile craft of seducing men on stage while carefully hiding a warm heart.

As she demonstrated in “Before the Devil Knows Your Dead” (2007), Ms. Tomei is not only a terrific actress but also has a terrific body. As a stripper, she bares it all while on stage, and there is nothing artificial about her performance as a pole dancer.

However, Evan Rachel Wood steals the film in a spectacularly moving performance as Stephanie Robinson, ‘The Ram’s’ estranged lesbian daughter. When Rourke tries to belatedly establish contact with her, she expresses nothing but contempt for him and what he stands for. He is, in her classic words, a colossal “f_ _k up.”

Tomei gives a mature, nuanced performance as a seemingly lowlife character fearing to trust that there is any decency in the artificial world in which she works. And I dare say Ms. Woods performance as the angst ridden, emotionally crushed abandoned daughter will leave you in awe of a young actress wise beyond her years.

As I was finishing this review, the Oscar Nominations have been announced. Mr. Rourke and Ms. Tomei have both deservedly received recognition. While I want to spend a little time examining all of the nominations before speculating on anyone’s chances of winning, it seems at this stage that Mr. Rourke’s competition for the top prize will principally come from Sean Penn for his brilliant portrayal of Harvey Milk in the movie of the same title.

In reality, “The Wrestler” is a movie about the resurrection of Mickey Rourke. Having thrown his entire career into the trashcan, he miraculously rises from the ashes. The prodigal son has returned home, and who cannot find joy in such a powerful depiction of human redemption.