Elizabeth A. Leib

by Elizabeth A. Leib

Our Valentine date this year was to go see The Wrestler. Although we both wanted to see it, at times during the bleak, demanding film I wondered if we’d made a good choice. I really doubted the decision during the bloody close-ups of Rourke’s back in the scene where the medical assistant removes the staples from the evenings performance. Next Valentine’s day I bet we choose something pleasantly vapid like He’s Just Not That Into You.

But now we’re in the position to really appreciate it if Rourke wins for best actor tomorrow night. In his interview last week with Charlie Rose he talks about how his issues with authority and the resulting irresponsible, reckless behavior left him shut out of opportunities to act for the last 14 years. Rourke says his performance in the Wrestler is possible because of his willingness to revisit personal and professional failures. But unlike his character Randy the Ram, Rourke believes his work over the last 10 years with a therapist will provide him with tools and information to handle himself differently in the future.

scene from the Wrestler - Randy the Ram talks with his daughter

In the eighties I admired his work in Diner, Body Heat, 9 1/2 Weeks, Barfly, and particularly in Rumble Fish. I identified with the way he lived with an intransigent middle finger always stuck up in someone’s face. As he faded from cinema in the nineties I lost track and interest in what he was up to. I was busy enough finding ways to recalibrate my own defiant ways.

Mickey Rourke as Motorcycle Boy in Rumble Fish

He’s an exceptionally gifted actor and gives a great performance in the Wrestler. Like his character, Randy the Ram, Rourke’s professional future may hold the most promise. And if he manages to achieve his professional goals, he might be able to do something his character Motorcycle Boy wasn’t able to do - lead us somewhere meaningful.

Rourke on Letterman, Dec. 2008 - rough around the edges