With “The Wrestler,” Aronofsky restrains himself visually, allowing filmgoers to immerse themselves in the story and characters. This is a refreshing artistic change for Aronofsky since he is known for his flashy visual style and frenetic pacing evident in such directorial efforts as “Requiem for a Dream” and “Pi.” Although appealing to the eye, the look of those films often distracts the audience, making viewers too aware that they are watching a movie. The camerawork in “The Wrestler,” on the other hand, is so smooth and subtle that the film often takes on the quality of a documentary or reality television. Viewers will feel like they are eavesdropping on the characters especially in the scene chronicling Randy’s daily routine: bleaching his hair, tanning, shopping for weapons to use in the ring (a moment that is awkwardly realistic and equally comic). Here, Aronofsky separates the film from “Rocky” and “Ali” in the way he brings Randy down to a gritty human level, revealing warts and all. The film has more in common with “Raging Bull” in the sense that it is not really about an athlete in all his glory, but about the ins-and-outs of his day-to-day life. Having said that, the scenes involving wrestling are still engrossing.

Aronofsky manages to make the fights simultaneously exciting and horrifying. There is an exhilarating energy and brutality to them. They also take on an otherworldly quality as they become more and more extreme. We see Randy attacked by staple guns and forks, wielding audience members’ prosthetic limbs as weapons, throwing trash cans, etc. He is severely bruised and battered, but none of these injuries match his emotional scars (a point Aronofsky drives home in the film’s powerful, devastating conclusion).

“The Wrestler,” although simplistic in plot and predictable, never fails to deliver. Its elemental power enables viewers to overlook its flaws. Although the film may not be perfect, it manages to transcend the typical “battered athlete fighting for redemption” story (i.e. “Rocky,” “This Sporting Life”) and stand as a unique movie-going experience with its sense of realism in both the performances and direction.