The Wrestler

"Love. Pain. Glory."

2008 1h 49m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

🔥

99%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.9

IMDB

★7.5TMDB · 4,155🍅99%Rotten Tomatoes●80Metacritic★7.9IMDB · 330,212

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Aging wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson is long past his prime but still ready and rarin' to go on the pro-wrestling circuit. After a particularly brutal beating, however, Randy hangs up his tights, pursues a serious relationship with a long-in-the-tooth stripper, and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter. But he can't resist the lure of the ring and readies himself for a comeback.

“Love. Pain. Glory.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Mickey Rourke
Randy
Marisa Tomei
Cassidy
Evan Rachel Wood
Stephanie
Mark Margolis
Lenny
Todd Barry
Wayne
Wass Stevens
Nick Volpe
Judah Friedlander
Scott Brumberg
Ernest Miller
The Ayatollah

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writers: Robert D. Siegel
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 7.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 18 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Darren Aronofsky, shot by Maryse Alberti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Clint Mansell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Andrew Weisblum shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Love. Pain. Glory.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Darren Aronofsky directs. Maryse Alberti behind the camera. Clint Mansell scores. Andrew Weisblum cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America, France. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 7.5× over at the box office.
2Released 18 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: United States of America, France.
4Directed by Darren Aronofsky, shot by Maryse Alberti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Clint Mansell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Andrew Weisblum shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Love. Pain. Glory.".
9IMDB entry: tt1125849 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 15 themes, including "daughter", "new jersey", "supermarket", "heart attack".
11Released under 20 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Maryse Alberti
Original score: Clint Mansell
Editing: Andrew Weisblum
Production design: Tim Grimes
Costume design: Amy Westcott
Makeup / hair: Mandy Lyons
VFX supervisor: Dan Schrecker
Sound: Roberto Cappannelli
Stunt coordinator: Douglas Crosby
Runtime: 109 min · 1h 49m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $6,000,000
Box office: $44,734,660
Return: 746% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Wrestler (2008)
Rotten Tomatoes: 99% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 80/100
IMDB rating: 7.9/10 · 330,212 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars. 58 wins & 93 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Golden Lion

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Darren Aronofsky

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2018-09-26
★ 8/10
“The Wrestler” (2008) Twenty years past his glory days in the mid/late 80s, a wrestler (Mickey Rourke) struggles to make ends meet in New Jersey while wrestling on the weekends, taking illegal pain-meds, pursuing a dancer at the local strip club (Marisa Tomei) and trying to reestablish a relationship with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood). This is an engrossing, but gloomy drama about the grim reality of celebrities from practically any field who are long past their prime; it just happens to be a wrestler in this case. People mock how fake wrestling is, but those talented guys bend over backwards to entertain the audience with incredibly painful stunts. The film was shot in the winter in New Jersey and this augments the bleak pall. On the female front, Marisa is absolutely stunning as Cassidy (aka Pam) and Wood is convincing as the embittered daughter. Their relationships with the protagonist are a mixture of sweet, agonizing and moving. The soundtrack features several quality songs from the 80s: "Bang Your Head," "Round and Round," "Balls to the Wall," "Animal Magnetism," "Dangerous," "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)," "Sweet Child o' Mine" and more. The movie reminded me of 80’s metal star Jon Mikl Thor and the excellent documentary “I Am Thor” (2015) and, to a lesser extent, “Anvil: The Story of Anvil” (2008). While neither of these is as melancholic as “The Wrestler,” and “I Am Thor” is sometimes laugh-out-loud amusing, they both effectively show the grey reality of former real-life celebs well past their halcyon days. The film runs 1 hour, 49 minutes. GRADE: A-
CinemaSerf2024-03-30
★ 7/10
Mickey Rourke is on top-form in this depiction of fading wrestling star "Randy". Once the talk of the tour, he has fallen on hard times. His body hasn't the strength or stamina it once had and after one fairly convincing pasting in the ring he decides it is time to hang up his loincloth. Whilst his professional life was full of glamour, testosterone and showbiz, his retirement is much less so. Still needing to work, he takes a job in a supermarket and all so he can eek out a living and hopefully establish a relationship with his long estranged daughter "Stephanie" (Evan Rachel Wood). When we are in the ring, this is an action-packed and entertaining film that illustrates well just how brief these folks' moment's in the sun can be, at how fickle the audiences can be and at just how little a dilapidated body (and soul) can be left with when injury and age impose themselves. I was much less interested in the slightly contrived, and predictable, familial melodrama into which this sinks in the middle, though. I found myself really disinterested in his love life - with the unconvinced "Cassidy" (Marisa Tomei), or in his attempts to repair his torrid relationship with "Stephanie". Luckily, that is but an intermission before the grand denouement that sees him in the ultimate grudge match against his equally aged foe "the Ayatollah" (Ernest Miller). The script is lively and frequently quite witty, the direction of the fight scenes captures well the physical endurance required by these athletes, but it also shows us that their job is to entertain us - not to actually kill each other! Rourke flips from the wrestler to the tortured father well here, and the film is well worth a watch.
griggs792025-03-28
★ 9/10
What a film. It’s raw, heartfelt, and unexpectedly tender. Mickey Rourke's character, all battered pride and broken dreams, is a reflection of our own struggles, clinging to past glory while life keeps kicking him in the ribs. The themes of faded stardom, loneliness, and defiance really hit home. It’s not flashy, but it’s utterly gripping. Quietly devastating. I loved it.