2009-02-12 00:43:05

OSCAR RACE 2009: HARVEY VS. THE RAM

Filed under: Music
Posted by: Craig

Slumdog Millionaire will win the Academy Award for Best Picture. But what about the acting categories? Months ago, I championed two big performances in small movies. I was thrilled to see Melissa Leo nominated for Frozen River and Richard Jenkins honored for The Visitor. Both films are modest in scope but grand in their execution. They put a human face on the immigration issue, exploring lives on the margins, at the edges of the American dream. For independent films, it is a victory just to be nominated. So who will win the Oscar?

Best actor has become a two horse race: Harvey Milk vs. Randy the Ram. The Screen Actors Guild honored Sean Penn for his compassionate portrait of San Francisco supervisor, Harvey Milk. Mickey Rourke gave a poignant acceptance speech at the Golden Globes for his bruised and broken down role as The Wrestler. Both Oscar campaigns are fueled by the connections between reel life and real life.

Milk has grown in relevance after Proposition 8 overturned the California Supreme Court’s affirmation of gay marriage. The movie focuses upon Harvey Milk’s role in repealing a 1978 proposition prohibiting gay people from serving as public school teachers. It celebrates Milk’s trailblazing election while reminding viewers how tenuous gay rights remain thirty years on. Milk carries a message Hollywood wants to highlight on Oscar night.

Yet, The Wrestler also contains a compelling meta-story. The faded glory of pro wrestler Randy the Ram is mirrored by actor Mickey Rourke’s turbulent career. Rourke and the Ram both struggle with addictions, distance themselves from those who seek to help them, and self-inflict all manner of pain. A victory for The Wrestler would complete Rourke’s professional rehabilitation. And Hollywood loves a comeback story.

Beyond the back-stories, how does the work of Penn and Rourke compare? Both films are a form of canonization. They are steeped in suffering, in determination, in perseverance. Milk and The Wrestler are tragedies, stories of fighters who are cut off far too soon. But the grainy cinematography of The Wrestler contrasts with the studio glow that burnishes Milk. Will Academy voters go for gritty or polished, handheld or upheld?

Milk venerates an enduring role model for gay activists and progressive politicians. Dustin Lance Black’s script shows how gradually Harvey discovered his calling as “the Mayor of Castro Street.” The road from small business owner to tireless community organizer was full of false starts and disappointments. But Milk and the movie never stop recruiting us to join their cause. Sean Penn’s Harvey Milk charms us with a quick smile. He relishes the challenge of wooing skeptical voters. He talks his lovers into enduring another grueling campaign. His singular focus is shown to have a substantial personal cost. Thanks to Penn’s compassionate performance, we feel with and for Harvey.

The sunny optimism of Milk is counterbalanced by the creepiness Josh Brolin brings to his portrayal of Supervisor Dan White. In a year without Heath Ledger’s Joker, Brolin would have garnered an Oscar. His haunted, stuffed shirt unravels in an entirely believable way. White doesn’t seem like a monster–just a repressed, angry and average American. He stands in for our worst tendencies, the dark side of our culture that rages against Harvey Milk’s happiness.

The Wrestler presents Rourke as a “sacrificial Ram.” A handheld camera follows the Ram through the bowels of decrepit arenas. Director Darren Aronofsky places us inside the ring, amidst the Ram’s blood, sweat and tears. We see the tricks of the wrestling trade, from hidden razor blades to cabinets full of painkillers. We understand how much entertainment is built into the wrestling biz, as the competitors discuss their moves before they enter the ring. Scenes of staples piercing the Ram’s bronze body make us wince. The Wrestler descends into a theater of cruelty.

Much has been made of Rourke’s tendency to hide as an actor behind sunglasses or accents or tics. The Wrestler reveals and revels in all his scars. Rourke’s performance feels naked and unguarded. It is out there, in the ring, for all to see. Marisa Tomei matches him in her role as a fading stripper. She reveals even more flesh and bears her wounds with equal empathy. The Wrestler veers dangerously close to exploiting its actors. But Tomei’s fearless performance deserves another Oscar as best supporting actress. She provides a living embodiment of hope, a potential escape route from the Ram’s downward spiral.

So who will win the Oscar for Best Actor? Sean Penn’s volatile reputation vanishes within the warmth of Milk. Penn disappears in the role, allowing Harvey to emerge. Rourke and the Ram merge their professional and personal demons. The movie and role could not have happened without Rourke. For my money, best actor belongs to those who travel the farthest, who take us on the deepest ride. Rourke has traveled a long way from his professional heights. But Penn goes further in inhabiting a different place and space and person. He finds the soul of a secular saint, a beacon of light amidst a dark era. We’re dragged down with the Ram. We transcend our circumstances with Milk. Best actor in 2008? Sean Penn.

Comments (2)

2 Comments »

1. Loved your exegesis of The Wrestler, and the “sacrificial Ram.” Brilliant observation. I thought of him as a sacrifice, yes, but I didn’t go that deep with it. I love your thoughts on film, Craig.

   Of course I think it’s really hard to compare the two performances, because they’re both so iconic and central to the films / stories they’re coming out of, but I guess I have a special soft spot for Mickey Rourke. However, I think Oscar will award Penn. I say that more because of what’s gone on in California in the past few months regarding Prop 8 than anything. But I think in 10 years, Rourke’s performance will be the one people are still talking about.

   Comment by Neville — February 18, 2009 @ 12:40 pm

2. Great post and very astute observation on the journey Penn took as an actor. I loved Mickey Rourke’s performance but I’m glad that the Academy finally agreed with you, Craig.

   Comment by Robert Little — February 24, 2009 @ 12:05 pm

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