But, in the male actor category I've got to say that Mickey Rourke's performance is pretty stunning -- and I'm not just talking about the purely physical aspects of his performance; I felt a wide range of emotions, and that's what it's all about right?
I watched 'The Wrester' and 'Milk' back-to-back yesterday afternoon, and it occurs to me that the two portraits represent two separate paths to the same end (spoiler alert: they both die!); The Wrestler represents the gradual deterioration -- both mentally and physically -- of a washed-up superstar from the 80s, while 'Milk' illustrates the slow accumulation of power/influence in Harvey Milk's life. In both cases, the portraits showed the challenges inherent in living a public life: Milk loses multiple partners (and one to suicide) because of his sheer pursuit of gay rights; Randy the Ram is divorced from his wife, estranged from his daughter, yet still manages to forge a bond that nevertheless cannot keep him from the ring.
My favorite part of 'The Wrestler': once Randy takes his job at the supermarket, but just prior to entering the floor, he halts at the doorway; we hear a crowd, quietly at first then building, chanting Randy's name...it's a very poignant reminder about the seductiveness of the spotlight.
Emile Hirsch, by the way, is a revelation in 'Milk.' In spite of those horrendous glasses, he plays an initially preening, then a more substantial member of Milk's coterie -- he especially incredible when he's preening!
Anyway, enjoy the Oscars...
2 comments:
How do you put spoiler alert with the spoiler directly following in the same sentence! Shame on you. Spoiler alerts go in the beginning of the article or at the beginning of a paragraph at the very least. Thanks for ruining that movie. Milk can be forgiven since it is a real life story, so not a big plot giveaway. But that was a big giveaway for the Wrestler.
Well, it's my interpretation that he dies in the end...it's not really clear. Is that any better?
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