But after one excruciating bout that leaves the Ram ready to play the final scenes of The Passion of the Christ (a movie Cassidy references near the start), his heart collapses and he needs to make a living another way. He enlists Cassidy's help to reconnect him with his daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood), whom he abandoned years ago. His Acme boss finds him a regular spot behind the deli counter. The actors, though, can't help signaling trouble ahead. There's no complication here: You can take the Ram out of the ring, but not for long, because you can't take the ring out of the Ram.
Except for the draggy scenes with the daughter, every tiny detail, like the Ram's action figure, snaps into place. Aronofsky is wily and skillful, but he has a coarse and mistaken sense of what's authentic. He likes to rub noses into gore and grunge during the turnaround bout, and tears, in the awful moments when the Ram batters his way emotionally into a tentative rapport with Stephanie. Tomei's springiness as Cassidy keeps the character alive. Her single mother has the common sense and drive to separate her young son from her stripping, lap-dancing life. But you can't believe this vibrant woman would reject the Ram simply because he is "a customer."
