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| Mickey Rourke in his heartthrob days |
At the time he liked to tell interviewers that he had been exiled from Hollywood but really he had just been relegated (with the exceptional exception of Sin City) to bit parts in small films or direct-to-DVD trash.
Still, his return was heralded by film buffs like myself, who cherished his breakthrough work in the early 1980s, when he was seen as potential heir to the Marlon Brando method-acting mantle.
Ironically, not unlike Brando, he has mostly squandered the goodwill he gained from his remarkable work on forgettable movies or films so poor they have not really gotten much of a release.
Although I am among the few who genuinely enjoyed his villainous turn opposite Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man 2, he simply hasn't taken on a role of substance since The Wrestler. Because of his penchant for taking paycheck movies he's been reduced to a 30 Rock punchline and become a staple on bad plastic surgery websites. And yet, he is one of my favorite actors of all time, even if he's only starred in a half-a-dozen great films.
When he's on-point, like he was in The Wrestler, he is an incredibly unique, soulful, compelling performer. And I am still holding out hope that he has a couple more great performances that the right director could pull out of him.
He reached the pinnacle of his early career exactly 30 years ago, with the cult classic The Pope of Greenwich Village. After that he gave a few more stirring performances in good, but incredibly flawed films like Year of the Dragon, 9 1/2 Weeks and Angel Heart. His last great role might have been 1989's Johnny Handsome. But the '90s were totally a wash. Now he's back but he mostly sticks to the comic book genre. The Wrestler was compelling because he played a real human being -- and his best roles have been down to earth:
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| Modern Rourke |
Diner (1982) - This film features Rourke at his most charismatic, accessible, and dare I say, sexy. He appears as part of an ensemble here (in a film featuring future stars Kevin Bacon and Ellen Barkin, to name a few). The comedy is all about male insecurity and immatury, following a group of guys as they come of age in 1959 Baltimore. Rourke plays the "cool guy" of the crew, who has a sensitive side.
Rumble Fish (1983) - His winning streak continued with one of Francis Ford Coppola's most artistic and underrated films, an adaptation of the S.E. Hinton young adult novel. The Outsiders is more famous, but I prefer this black and white expressionistic ode to alienated youth. Rourke again plays the idol of his peers in a moody performance that has echoes of both Brando and Dean.
The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984) - Rourke and Eric Roberts make an excellent pair in this terrific character piece that is reminiscent of Mean Streets in terms of its tone and plot. Roberts plays Paulie, a shiftless troublemaker who is always plotting a scheme and Rourke plays his smoother cousin Charlie, who foolishly keeps vouching for his cousin. The movie, like many of Rourke's early heralded work, bombed when it first came out, souring him on the business. The cynicism led him to turn to boxing over acting, which deprived his fans of some would-be great performances.
For instance, Rourke was originally offered Bruce Willis' role in Pulp Fiction, which would have fit him like a glove. And Tarantino, who is clearly a fan, also originally cast him as Stuntman Mike in Death Proof. Rourke is now over 60, although his age is often in dispute, and the window for him to give another landmark performance is probably closing. I hope he doesn't wind up a Hollywood footnote, an example of someone who had potential but never realized it.
He'll always be one of my favorite actors, even if he chooses to keep acting like a jackass in public.
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