The Wrestler

The Wrestler is the fourth movie by Darren Aronofsky and there is definitely a theme that threads them all together: loneliness and isolation.  Pi gives us a mathematician isolated by his own genius.  Requiem for a Dream follows a group of friends whose drug problems push them deeper and deeper into the cocoons of their separate addictions.  The Fountain follows Tom on three parallel journeys to find/save his soul mate with no one who can help him.

Now Mickey Rourke stars as professional wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson (don't dare call him by his real name, Robin Razinski).  Many movies deal with a crisis of identity, with a character struggling to find where they fit in the world.  The Wrestler approaches that concept from a different angle.  Randy knows what he is: a wrestler.  But how long will his body let him continue.  He's already 20 years past his prime.  In the ring he is a god, but in real life he is insecure and scared while still trying to wear the worn badge of The Ram.  He is alone.