I was extremely disappointed with Sean Penn's win. Sean Penn is an outstanding actor who gave an uncharacteristically loose, engaging and wonderful turn as an heroic figure -- in what I thought was a conventionally structured, by-the-numbers-bio-pic capped with the standard "where-are-they-now" text epilogue. His performance was noble and deserving -- but his victory was politically correct and in keeping with the Academy's self-seriousness to anoint things historic that makes it feel good about itself (hence the standing ovation).
But in my view, the demands of his role paled compared to Mickey Rourke's shattering, full-range performance in "The Wrestler." I am not a fan of Mickey Rourke and dislike him intensely. But I could not ignore -- having seen all the performances nominated this year -- what he did in this picture, from start to finish. His character was an exercise in total immersion, on par with what I believe have been the best larger-than-life performances nominated since 1980 -- including De Niro in Raging Bull (win), Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs (win), and Liam Neeson in Schindler's List (lost to Tom Hanks). I dreaded paying to see "The Wrestler" -- expecting over-the-top nonsense. But I came away very moved with Rourke, the film's spectacular ending, and the behind-the-scenes exploration of a sub-culture with which many are unfamiliar. Rourke is not part of the Hollywood clique and never had anything "sewn up." Penn's win by the gigantic voting block that make up the SAG awards last month -- re-confirmed Rourke's outsider status (Rourke is considered a social and political pariah out here) -- and made Penn the odds-on favorite by many last night. I think the Brits got it right when BAFTA named Rourke Best Actor. BAFTA is not as plagued by the anomalies of Hollywood voting as AMPAS. -kuz. Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:07:55 -0500 From: [email protected] Subject: Re: MOPO] OSCARS To: [email protected] Mickey Rourke may have been placed in the midst of a Hollywood hype, but his performance was outstanding nontheless, and deserving of a nomination at the very least. Those who saw the the movie early on, before the hype, knew that they witnessed a great performance. If I'm not mistaken, this is one example where the media jumped on the band wagon after word of mouth, from film-festival-goers, earmarked the movie as worthy. Zeev ----- Original Message ----- From: Franc To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 9:44 AM Subject: Re: [MOPO] MOPO] OSCARS I think Hugh Jackman is a really talented guy caught last night in the midst of a Hollywood wet dream. The show was awful and boring. I couldn't believe the incompetence of the obituaries in which you couldn't discern the names or images of the people being honored and Queen Latifa had to sing about twenty choruses of "I'll Be Seeing You". And frankly, Slumdog Millionaire is over-hyped. I understand that the award is a nod to the ever-expanding emerging markets in India and Pakistan but I thought the film was only okay. All the other nominees were far superior. I would have given the best picture award to Frost/Nixon or Milk. Glad Sean Penn won best actor over the also over-hyped performance of Mickey Rouke. Sometimes the voters don't like to be told that a certain actor or actress has an award all sown up and that's what I think happened with Rouke. I stayed through the end of the show with the help of the Fast Forward on my remote control but it was one long snooze. FRANC Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
