Mickey Rourke: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked‏

1. Randy "Ram" Robinson - The Wrestler (2008)

We know we said we didn't want to harp on about it, but Darren Aronofsky's wrestling drama kinda demands we draw parallels between star and character. The Wrestler is a movie all about a washed up professional seeking redemption, looking for the big break which will send him soaring into the glorious second act of his career. We should probably stop making comparisons between The Ram and Mickey Rourke before the film's somewhat tragic ending, but seriously, if Marv was the fun genre role he was born to play, then Randy Robinson was the Oscar contender that only Rourke could effectively essay. Count yourself lucky that Nicolas Cage dropped out before filming could begin. Rourke certainly should, because Cage's loss was certainly his game. In concert with the Requiem For A Dream and Black Swan director he managed to build up a character who felt full and real, which only caused us to feel even more sorry for him. No mean feat when the character in question is a middle-aged professional wrestler who has fallen on hard times and has to supplement his income working at the local deli. He's a profoundly sad figure, and Rourke's performance never shies away from that; it also doesn't let him be just a wounded puppy dog there for you to feel sorry for. The Ram is certainly a mess, and part of that isn't his fault, but a lot of it is. His strained relationship with the daughter he barely knew, played by Evan Rachel Wood, is held up as the film's emotional core, but it's only a small piece of a large puzzle. A devastating (and devastatingly well-acted) piece, but a piece nonetheless. Rourke may be surrounded by the capable likes of Wood and Marisa Tomei, but The Wrestler is absolutely his film, a character piece which hinges entirely on his performance and succeeds because of it. And he's got the awards to prove it. Not that every Rourke performance would be bothering the Academy...