The Wrestler (2008)

A couple of times a month, my mind can get caught in a loop of fright brought on by talk/images of how fragile our bodies are. The ease with which bones crush and skin splits can cause me to ball up and rock, eyes squeezed shut, until the panic subsides. This isn't fear about my own safety, but just about how scary the world is in general. I mean, I worry about the possibility of accidental injury on ice-coated concrete steps I glimpse through my moving car's window and the sharp-edges of coffee tables I see in the living rooms of sitcom families. If I allow myself to contemplate injury deliberately inflicted...well, let's just say I've learned that's not a mental place I should ever go.

So this was a bad movie for me. I nearly threw up during one wrestling match involving a staple gun, barbed wire, and broken glass and then got shakingly angry when a fist was deliberately punched into a deli slicer (as a former caterer, I've had plenty of sleepless hours thinking about the dangers of those ANYWAY). Basically, this was more than uncomfortable for me.

Even if I didn't loathe the world depicted and those who keep clapping as the blood flows, I'm pretty sure I would have been complaining about the jogging-in-place cinematography. I just don't get why people love this depressing portrait of losers -- I don't even think that Rourke's performance was deserving of all the praise it got. If this didn't feed on my own particular fears, the highest grade I could muster would probably be a "C+". Because it felt irresponsible on the level of "Se7en" to me and I never want to think of it again, my personal grade is lower.

C-