Was anyone else psyched that Mickey Rourke won for "The Wrestler" last night?
I saw it a couple weeks ago and am still completely blown away by his performance. One idiot woman walking out of the theater said to her companion, "He was just being himself - that wasn't really acting."
Uh - WHAT???
Yes, there are obvious parallels between the character and Mickey's real life. But that doesn't take away from the fact that he laid himself bare, literally and figuratively, in this performance. It was quite honestly the most fearless performance I've seen since Ellen Burstyn's in Aranofsky's "Requiem for a Dream." He laid every single flaw he has physically and emotionally right out there for everyone to see and dissect.
By the end, I had come to care so much about the character, that like our beloved Ennis Del Mar, he became real to me. His losses became my losses, and my heart ached (and still aches) for him.
Give that man an Oscar (not that I care, but, oh, hell, I guess I do), for God's sake!!!