The Wrestler

Second chances play big at the movies, and here we have a double-whammy: the tale of a washed-up wrestler with a second bite at the cherry, and in the starring role, one-time great Mickey Rourke. What's not to love?

In the 80s, wrestling champ Randy 'the Ram' Robinson had it all: a loyal following, action figures and big turns in colossal arenas. Today, he's struggling to pay the rent, his long, wavy locks no longer look so golden, and those muscles have been steroided into the grotesque. But he's still got his dignity. To see him wrestling in the back rooms of those scuzzy halls is to see some kind of strange, spandexed Aslan down on his luck.

Outside the ring, he is estranged from his daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood), and is trying to grapple with her anger. Meanwhile he's developing a puppy-dog crush on a stripper named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), unaware that her little routine in her Perspex heels is every bit as fake as his bouts in the ring.

Still, there's a charm to Randy that none can quite resist, and it's this that pumps life and warmth into The Wrestler. Rourke bagged himself a Bafta and a Golden Globe for his performance, and director Darren Aronofsky - himself hoping for another chance after the crash of The Fountain (2006) - pulls it all off with aplomb. ·