Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" has been awarded the Golden Lion at the 65th Venice Film Festival reports IndieWire.

The film, which screened a few hours ago at the Toronto International Film Festival, gathered raves in Venice with special buzz for Mickey Rourke's performance.

Anne Thompson attended the Toronto screening and says that "Aronofsky lets the story unfold in a straightforward, unvarnished, dramatic way, without pushing too hard for sentimentality or pathos".

She does admit however that "With careful, adroit handling--and some marketing dollars--the movie could go all the way. But it is by no means a slam dunk commercially."