Mickey Rourke, who is in town to promote his new comeback movie The Wrestler, seen with a friend out in the West Village of New York City.

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Pictured: Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei, Rachel Weisz, Jared Leto & Mickey Rourke.

Pictured: the newly single Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei, Jason Statham & Mickey Rourke.

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Mickey Rourke goes for an evening stroll along the Via Condotti with his dog Loki. Rourke visits the Cesare Paciotti shoe shop where he purchased a pair of shoes. Rourke is in Rome, Italy to promote his latest movie “The Wrestler”.

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Darren Aronofsky’s (who is married to Rachel Weisz) The Wrestler is surely one of the fall’s most enigmatic releases — and one of the most eagerly awaited. The Wrestler looks every bit as creepy and moody as you’d expect from the man behind Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain (which was awesome despite its generally negative reception).

Randy “Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) is a professional wrestler from the 1980s who is forced to retire after a heart attack threatens to kill him the next time he wrestles. He takes a job at a deli, attempts to form a relationship with an aging stripper (Marisa Tomei) and does his best to reconcile with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood). However, he is drawn to the prospect of a rematch with his old wrestling nemesis the Ayatollah (Ernest Miller), even though the fight may cost him his life.

At the premiere, Rachel Weisz and husband Darren Aronofsky, Evan Rachel Wood, Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Naomi Watts and Liev Schrieber.

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Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler is surely one of the fall’s most enigmatic releases — and one of the most eagerly awaited. Here are the first production stills from the film, and it looks every bit as creepy and moody as you’d expect from the man behind Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain (which was awesome despite its generally negative reception).

The movie is about a retired professional wrestler, played by Mickey Rourke, who is trying to survive on the small-time independent wrestling circuit. It sounds campy, but I think it’s more likely to be grim — and it sounds, if anything, awfully depressing. These photos confirm that, I think, as does the fact that Clint Mansell is once again writing the musical score.

The movie premieres in Venice next month, then Toronto shortly thereafter. It doesn’t have a US distributor yet, but that won’t last long. Check out a couple more photos (including one featuring Marisa Tomei as a stripper) below.

I love Darren Aronofsky, I’d see just about anything he does!