CarbonStated

Every so often movie-goers are treated to a performance so visceral and guttural you are unsure if you should celebrate the beauty or wince at the absolute desperation of what you’ve just seen.


Last year, Daniel Day Lewis’ staggering portrayal of Daniel Plainview in There Will be Blood, dragged viewers through the blackness of the oil business—leaving them perhaps uneasy with what they had seen, but certain of its brilliance.




A performance of that nature is hardly surprising from an actor of Day Lewis’ stature. The same cannot be said for this year’s victory, Mickey Rourke. If fact, there’s a good reason you are probably more familiar with his extracurricular activities than his body of work. Rourke is probably best known for his work in the 80’s, but he’s recently returned to Hollywood stardom with his performance of Marv in the Frank Miller hit Sin City.



Even still, critics would scarcely consider Rourke a dynamic actor. He’s been often typecast as a sort of hard ass, womanizing, drug abusing violence monger. Which makes him perfectly suitable for the role of Randy “The Ram” Robinson (his wrestling alter-ego). However, what may catch viewers off guard is the surprising tenderness of Robin Ramzinski (his real life name).


Director Darren Aronofsky and screenwriter Robert D. Siegel perfectly craft Ramzinski, juxtaposing his savage wrestler persona against his battered real life personality. As an aging former superstar, “The Ram”, performs for crowds which seem to only favor the novelty of his ex-victorious nature. He’s a broken down, beaten down version of his formerly Apollonic self. The abscessed aspect of the character is where Rourke makes his money in the film.


Though Ram is a character of many flaws—steroid abuser, family abandoner, drug abuser, etc.—you are drawn to look with favor upon him. At the heart, Aronofsky is weaving a tale about self absorption and perhaps the grave dangers of such self-destructive behaviors. Ram is obsessed with attention, whether positive or negative. Now in the waning days of his wrestling career, post a heart attack which has rendered him unable to boost or wrestle any longer, he no longer has an outlet to achieve the interest he once did. So he seeks to reconnect to his daughter, Stephanie. However noble his intentions, it becomes apparent they are marred by his obvious hamartia. His quest to be reunited with Stephanie is only an exercise in vainglory—he wants only to restore his self worth through a new form of attention. Simultaneously he is attempting to begin a relationship with his stripper friend Cassidy (stage name)… which ultimately operates as a manifestation of another attempt to gain self worth.


Aronofsky illustrates this point beautifully in a subtle manner when Ram is forced to take a full-time job behind a deli counter. After beautifully framing his first day with a “triumphant” march down the tunnel utilizing diegetic sound within the tunnel and fading into non-diegetic fan cheering, Ram arrives behind the counter a bit bamboozled by where he’s arrived. This isn’t the wrestling ring he’s marching to any longer; he’s a simple deli clerk now. After realizing the mundanity of his situation, Ram begins to adapt his bigger than life personality in the way he takes order and handles customers. Soon, however, his flair loses its mystique and he’s once again just another guy behind the counter. At this point, Ram does something drastic to once again win favor. (If you haven’t seen the film, ignore the rest of this paragraph.) Ram jams his thumb into the meat grinder causing copious amounts of blood loss, which he proceeds to smear upon his apron and face. He runs out of the grocery store screaming “I quit!” “I’m done!” Here Aronofsky most overtly expresses the Ram’s festering need for attention.


Rourke’s performance commands the type of attention and applause it is receiving. The film is quite excellent, largely because of the way he is able to manipulate the audience into believing he is perhaps a noble-hearted lost soul searching only for the people’s elbow… of appreciation.