The Wrestler- A 1-2-3 for Mickey?

Growing up, as most children do, I loved wrestling. I started as a minor fan during the Hulkster and Randy Savage days and became a full-fledged fanatic when Stone Cold Steve Austin coined one of the most iconic phrases in wrestling history upon winning the King of the Ring. Let's just say I was eager to see whether Darren Aronofsky would go Oliver Stone and make as inaccurate a film as possible.
The Wrestler stars Mickey Rourke as Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a one-time wrestling superstar who has fallen on hard times. Randy used to perform to sold out arenas and now works community centers looking for the next meager pay day. Rourke shines in this role as a man broken more by his work outside the ropes than between them. Rourke helped write some of his own lines and you can tell as he appears very comfortable.
The story is told linearly, with a couple of flashbacks (which only go around 14 minutes backward in time). The look and feel of The Wrestler is very real. The way it is filmed makes the audience follow Randy more than observes him. On top of that, it's accurate. All this makes it painful to think about, but fantastic to watch. Keep your ears open for Bruce Springstein at the end, a perfect song for a tragic character.
Having now watched this, I'm disappointed it was not nominated for more awards. Especially Best Pic. That's how the game is played though. The commercially appealing stuff always gets it's place at the table, even when all it's doing is eating the bread.