There’s that classic scene in On the Waterfront, where Marlon Brando’s character, Terry, scolds his older brother, Charley (Rod Steiger). Everybody always quotes that part where he says, “I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender.” But you know what they usually leave out? The most important part:
“I coulda been somebody - instead of a bum, which is what I am, let’s face it. It was you, Charley.”
People have a tendency to ignore that part, but it’s the core of the scene. Watching the scene is like entering into another reality for a couple minutes. You lose yourself. You can’t take your eyes off the screen; when Brando’s Terry condemns his brother, watch his eyes. It’s just magic. There was something completely enthralling and engaging and entrancing about that moment - he exudes that rare, natural quality of a great actor that few professionally trained, methodical actors can achieve on their own. You have to be born with it. You have to be somebody to have it.
De Niro had it. Pacino had it. They’ve lost it with their older age, but occasionally it seeps back in (the diner scene in Heat). It’s becoming increasingly rarer to experience that overwhelming feeling that you’re watching something special on-screen, though; it just isn’t the same anymore. Looking back now, then, it’s easy to see why critics compared a young Mickey Rourke to Brando and De Niro in their primes. Rourke had “it.” Watch Diner. Watch Angel Heart. That breakdown at the end of the latter film? The part where he stares at his fragmented face in the shattered mirror, tears welling up in his eyes, his face red? He manages to say everything by saying absolutely nothing, stealing the scene from De Niro. And you know you’re good when you manage to steal a scene from De Niro when he’s playing a character as engaging as, say, Satan.
Rourke lost that charm and that twinkle in his eye and burned himself out by the mid-’90s, on a road to ruin. But now he’s back. And if this scene from The Wrestler is anything to go by, this may be the lead performance of the year. I lost myself in this clip, completely immersed in the dialogue and unable to take my eyes off of Rourke’s weathered, beaten face. Watch his eyes. That faint twinkle - it’s back, just hidden beneath a noticeably more bruised and rugged exterior. He looked like a fighter back then - now he looks like a survivor.
I’ve spoken to someone who attended the premiere last month, and he said it was one of the best films he’d seen in a long time. Rourke and director Darren Aronofsky were in attendance, there to witness their critically-hailed potential Oscar contender. The audience reaction was reportedly overwhelmingly positive. And after seeing this short scene on YouTube, you’ll probably join me in hoping for a nationwide release for the film, because as of right now, it has only been previewed on a limited basis, probably just to qualify it for an Oscar run. The studio doesn’t seem intent on actually releasing it until they figure out how to market it and tie it in with the awards ceremonies, which is a shame. I don’t think there’s even a trailer out yet.
