Genre: Drama
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Writer: Chad Taylor
Cast: Mel Gibson, Tom Hardy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Kate Winslet, Kurt Russell, Max von Sydow, Michael Madsen, Philip Baker Hall
Plot: Wallace Dunbar (Mel Gibson) is one of the most legendary professional wrestlers in the business and a notorious alcoholic and serial womanizer. At 59, he is still holding off on retirement. He has a meeting with Laurence Lemming (Kurt Russell) - the CEO of American United Wrestling, the largest wrestling promotion in the United States. Wallace established himself as a star for AUW in the 70s,80s and 90s and continues to wrestle for them on a semi-regular basis. Lemming, a longtime friend of Wallace’s, reveals that he has learned of Wallace suppressing his doctor’s medical advice from over 2 years ago – that if he keeps wrestling, he is at risk for a life-threatening injury. When Lemming tells Wallace that his wrestling career for them is effectively over, Wallace pleads for one final match to go out the right way. Knowing the money that match would rake in if promoted properly, Lemming agrees and sets it for their big show WrestleFest in three months. Wallace tries to call his son Ray but gets no answer.
Ray Wright (Tom Hardy) changed his name 17 years ago from Wallace Dunbar Jr. to avoid being asked about his father every time he told someone his name. After a failed stint in wrestling when he was younger, Ray took up unassuming (but important) work as a building inspector and descended into anonymity. He has dinner with his ex-wife Kate (Kate Winslet) to celebrate his 15 years of sobriety and they discuss how their daughter Hannah is doing do in her first week of college.
Wallace has lunch with “Danger” Dick Thompson (Michael Madsen), his former tag team partner and most-heated rival (after they turned on each other in story). Wallace tells him that he is finally hanging up the boots. Dick has been retired for 10 years now and gives him some advice on going forward. Wallace admits that he does not think he is ready to give it up yet (or ever) – he was raised a wrestler and it is in his blood. He admits that one of his biggest regrets in life was failing to transition his son into the business and keep the family name alive.
Ray goes to the nursing home to visit his grandfather Lars Dunbar (Max Von Sydow), himself a wrestler from the 1950s and 60s who is now in his 90s and has dementia. Lars invites Ray to watch television with him and his nursing home mate Sal (Phillip Baker Hall), who also has dementia. Ray face-times in his daughter Hannah (Anya Taylor-Joy) so she can talk to her great-grandfather – although it is not entirely clear if he knows who she is.
At a college party, Hannah is talking to a guy that is wearing a wrestling shirt and tells him who her grandfather is. He starts freaking out and praises Wallace as the greatest of all time but he also starts asks if “Rockstar” Ray Dunbar is her father. She is confused as to how he knows her father and the guy explains that Ray is one of the most legendary “what could have been” performers in wrestling history. He had a super promising debut but then seemingly disappearing from wrestling after that. People still talk about it on online forums. Ray never talked to Hannah about his wrestling past and so she is stunned when the guy shows her a clip on YouTube of Ray’s debut. He is absolutely electrifying and charismatic, worlds away from the straight-laced boring Ray she was raised by.
The next day, Hannah calls her mom and says she wants to become a professional wrestler. When she tells her mom, Kate is adamant that she stay enrolled in school but that she will support her either way. She also warns her daughter that she cannot tell her father, as he will not take the decision lightly. In fact, he will likely forbid it totally. So instead, Hannah decides to ask her grandfather Wallace to help her train for an AUW try-out. Wallace, seeing this as an opportunity to continue his career vicariously through his granddaughter, is enthusiastic about the request.
Wallace meets with Lemming to discuss how they are going to approach his final match. Wallace suggests they try to convince Dick Thompson to come out of retirement and have one last showdown. Lemming turns down the idea, as he doesn’t think the crowd will want to see two sixty-year-olds limping around the ring (even if it has nostalgic value). He proposes the idea that he face Scott Stevenson (Armie Hammer) – the company’s biggest star at the moment. It would be a way to officially pass the torch. Wallace, still in denial about his retirement, is reluctant but Lemming brings Scott in and Wallace becomes more receptive after meeting him.
After sleeping with Crystal Vance (Gal Gadot), a female wrestler at AUW that he is having a fling with, Wallace asks her if she’d be willing to train Hannah and she says she would love to. At the training session, Wallace thinks Crystal is being too soft in her teaching style and wants her to be harder on Hannah. Wallace gets an emergency call and excuses himself immediately. While he is away, Crystal tells Hannah she will train her how she wants to. Hannah has lunch with her mother afterwards, and is torn about telling her dad about her upcoming try-out. She decides not to.
Wallace arrives at the nursing home to find Sal being treated to by EMTs. The administrators inform him that Lars threw Sal down with a body-slam type of move after an argument over a card game they were playing. Sal’s situation is dire and authorities are debating how to approach the situation. Since both men have dementia, they are hesitant to file any charges to classify it as an assault. When Wallace asks Lars about the incident and if he is okay, Lars has no clue what event he is talking about.
A week before WrestleFest, Wallace and Kate take Hannah to her try-out with the AUW. Hannah tells Wallace that she will go by the ring name “Hannah Dunbar” and this brings a tear to his eye. Crystal is also there for emotional support and Lemming is on hand to scout the potential talent. Things are going very well and Hannah is impressing everyone in attendance. As she attempts a moonsault, she lands on her elbow wrong and begins screaming in pain. The trainers rush to her and determine she needs to go the hospital to get evaluated. Kate is heartbroken and follows her daughter to the hospital. Wallace meets with Crystal in a back room and lashes out on her for not training Hannah properly. She insists that it was a freak accident but he slaps her with the back of his hand and walks away.
Kate tells Ray of Hannah’s injury and asks he come to the hospital, thus also informing him of Hannah’s wrestling ambitions for the first time. When Ray visits her, he is visibly annoyed for the first time in the film.
Crystal visits Scott Stevenson as he trains and we learn that they are actually dating. He confirms to her that his match with Wallace will be his last match for the company, after which he plans to transition to mixed-martial arts. She is the first person he has told this and he does not plan on letting Lemming know of his future plans. Still shaken from Wallace lashing out on her, she tells him how she was treated at the try-outs. She does not reveal her secret affair with Wallace but does talk about how scared it made her to see that angry side of him. Scott is seething with anger over this and debates how to confront Wallace about it.
He visits his grandfather again and is shocked to learn of the incident days earlier. He is angry that this is another thing that his father has hidden from him. He believes it is because Wallace is ashamed of how broken and frail that Lars has become – something that he is afraid to become himself, thus why he keeps wrestling. We find out that Sal actually died of complications from the incident but Lars will not be charged with anything due to his condition. Ray holds the hand of the grandfather as they watch television, still no recollection of the fracas. Back home, he goes on a long run, attempting to let out his frustration. Exhausted, he stops dead in his tracks and bends over, screaming in anger.
On the day of WrestleFest, Lemming invites Hannah and Ray to watch the event from backstage and Hannah is eager to go, prompting Ray to also begrudgingly accept. Hannah, arm in a sling, apologizes for hiding her wrestling training from her dad and that it was seeing his video that made her want to do it and impress him. Ray explains that when he was a wrestler in his younger years, his dad was too hard on him with expectations and it mentally broke him, finding himself often on the brink of suicide. Their relationship was permanently altered ever since. He was just worried the same would happen to her (from either him or his father). He reveals that he was arrested for possession of narcotics and steroids, both of which he found necessary to cope with his physical and mental strain in the wrestling business. It took this to realize how much the situation was weighing him down and that it was time to move on. Hannah tells him that she has decided that the wrestling life probably isn’t for her anyways and that she will focus back on school. He hugs her and tells her she doesn’t need his approval for whatever she wants to do in life.
During the big match between Scott and Wallace, the match goes according to plan and the crowd is eating out of the palms of their hands. Scott dominates most of the match but Wallace makes an epic comeback and hits most of his signature moves. Scott kicks out after Wallace’s finisher and then hits his own devastating powerslam, the “Black Angel”. Wallace (and Ray from backstage, who still has a wresting mind) is expecting this to be the ending but Stevenson breaks up his own pin before the referee can count to three. He taunts the crowd, an unexpected move from the beloved fan favorite and continues to needlessly beat down Wallace. He whispers into Wallace’s ear and tells him “you know what this is for” and proceeds to put him in an MMA armbar.
Wallace taps out and the bell is rung, signaling Ray as the winner. However, Scott keeps a tight grip on Wallace’s arm and demands that he say “I quit”. Wallace is writhing in pain but will not submit to Scott’s demands. Lemming panics and goes to send in security, which tips off Ray that this prolonged beatdown is unscripted. Without hesitation, Ray runs out to the ring before security can get there themselves. The crowd goes bonkers in hysterics – unaware of the reality of the situation and instead just assuming that Ray has made his long-awaited return to professional wrestling.
Ray punches Scott straight in the jaw and Scott scurries away, aware that a televised beatdown will hurt his future earning potential. The security subdue them both as they trash talk each other. The crowd come to realize that something is not right and fall silent. Lemming, wanting to turn this negative into a positive on his biggest show, radios in to the security to let go of Ray. Ray turns to his father, tension rife in between them. He stares down his father, who lies writhing on the ground. Ray looks up and surveys the crowd who are deafeningly cheering him on, which eventually fades out (along with the story) and all we hear is Ray's heavy breathing. Finally, he takes his father’s hand, helps him up, and raises it in the air with the crowd erupting in cheers. Hannah runs down to the ring and joins them in celebration as confetti falls down upon them and the crowd chants “Thank you Wallace”.
Wallace, Ray, and Hannah visit Lars at the nursing home and the four of them play a game of cards.
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