Well it appears Mickey Rourke may indeed be of use to society after all. Over the last decade Rourke has rarely bothered the industry radar; in fact if it wasn’t for his compulsion to flash his tackle in public we may well have dropped old Mick from the memory banks all together… until now.

In the biggest come-back since Quentin Tarantino resurrected John Travolta, Rourke returns with a juggernaut performance as the broken down wrestler, Randy “The Ram” Robinson, an over the hill glory junkie, struggling to deal with his fading star.

Rourke has done some incredibly tough yards in preparation for the Wrestler, physically the 56 year old actor looks like a bulldozer, his body is tanked, but in that, bloated, 20 years of steroids kinda way – perfect for the role. He also spent time training with ex WWE wrestlers getting ready for the physically demanding part.

For the nerds out there, the wrestling world is faithfully portrayed with a tongue in cheek acknowledgement of the sport and the market it draws; the behind the scenes footage open the world up to the general viewer endearing the process and Randy The Ram’s part in it.

Rourke is supported wonderfully by the amazing Marissa Tomei who continues her triple-A rating by choosing intelligent roles (and showing a bit of skin when required). Playing the very real Pam character, a single mother who befriends Rourke while stripping at a dive bar, Tomei pushes The Ram to reconnect with his estranged daughter, the only thing he seems truly proud of.

The Ram’s inability to let go of the glory years serves only to sabotage his present and future happiness, and it’s this internal war that makes this dry and softly spoken film so gripping.

The film of Rourke’s career and one of the year’s best.