For much of The Wrestler, I thought that Mickey Rourke's Ram could be saved. I hoped, urged, cheered, and longed for his deteriorating character to embrace the hope of reunion with his daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood) or the promise of a new life with the aging stripper Cassidy (Marisa Tomei). But sometimes, in the end, we are who we are and we just can't change.

Darren Aronofsky's work (The Fountain for one) is always going to make you think and maybe even drive you a bit mad. The Fountain proved to be an exercise in hope (even though it took me multiple times to get through it) while The Wrestler seems to be a practice of futility, and sadness. Ironically, Aronofsky's next two works are The Fighter, and... a remake of Robocop, so go figure. But The Wrestler shares the estimable talents of Rourke, Tomei, and a host of others, and that alone makes it a study for those who can endure the bloody carnage and desolate hearts.

The Ram was once a proud "fighter," staging professional wrestling battles with those who would do battle in the ring, but now his body has betrayed him. Turning to lesser lights for supporting acts, and adopting the use of various drugs (legal and illegal), Ram is both alone and lonely. His own mortality has become obvious even to him and he has nothing to show for his life, having abandoned his daughter in her childhood. What he does find in companionship, he explores in the per-dance variety at first, but the relationship with Cassidy never makes it much past simmer.

Stuck in a dead-end job during the week, The Ram finds the ring to be his only refuge, as the only place where he is accepted for who he is (and who he once was). And then the moment of truth, the moment of change and possibility comes... The Ram has a heart attack. Here, I hope that The Ram will change, and here I still believe in the power of miracles. He reconnects with Stephanie, and tries to talk to Cassidy. But The Ram can't stand it: it's hard to know if it's the lack of excitement, or the inevitability of his own addiction to the love of the crowd that draws him back into the ring.

From a spiritual perspective, I find that The Ram's situation is the same as mine. The Ram knows his own shortcomings and longs for a day when life won't hurt so bad, but he can't save himself (and apparently no one else in his life can either.) That's me, too: dragged down by my own worries and struggles, I long for healing and joy in my own life, but I can't find it on my own. Thankfully, that's where Jesus comes in. Setting aside his own glory, Jesus provides me a way to be healed and fulfilled, reunited with the presence of God lost in the Fall. Jesus helps me fight the call of "the ring," my addiction to various self-destructive desires, and my inability to form relationships built on love and trust. No, more strongly, Jesus fights those battles for me.

Unfortunately, The Ram stands, and falls alone. Thankfully, we don't have to.