A good movie, a mind-blowing performance.
Posted on | December 14, 2008 |
It’s probably good that Mickey Rourke will be in the Best Actor category and Heath Ledger will be in the Supporting actor division. Â I’ve discussed Ledger’s genius turn as the Joker in the recent Batman film, as has every other movie buff on the planet, but few will have seen, or possibly even heard of Rourke’s Tour de Force performance in his new indie flick, The Wrestler.
I’m no fan of reviews that give away plot points, twists, clever dialogue, or really anything at all. Â And while reviews aren’t as bad as previews, they’re close. Â So I’ll limit my comments on this film mainly to Rourke’s performance. Â This is method acting at its most intense and its most extreme. Â Rourke took this charcater all the way, as far as anyone could consider going. Â And then he went half as far again. Â
It’s a tough film to watch. Â And not just for the incredible in the ring violence it shows us, although that had me turning away, watching through eye covering fingers, and simply looking at my feet til it was over more than a few times. Â Rourke’s portrayal of the fallen hero trying to rise again is utterly heartbreaking. Â And while I will say the film has some overall problems, none of them involve the job Rourke has done that, while it probably won’t put him back in the A-list leading man category (he’s likely too far gone for that) it will put him in the running for any 50+ character role he chooses to even glance at.
At the Q & A Â after the screening I saw it at last week, I was tempted to ask the Mick if he ever did find out what that “Chisolm Trail” was all about, but I didn’t have the guts. Â I’ve always been a Rourke fan. Â His early work in Diner, Pope Of Greenwich Village, RumbleFish and Barfly still stand as strong today as they did the day they came out. Â Where or why he went off the rails is no business of mine. Â But the man is back with a vengeance with this one and I am looking forward to see what the man does next. Â Congratulations Mr. Rourke. Â And thank you. Â You showed me what is possible for an actor. Â I hope that performance was worth what it cost you. (if you see it, you’ll know what I’m talking about.)