Mickey Rourke Makes His Oscar Bid in Two ‘Wrestler’ Clips

Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on October 13, 2008

People who drink lattes and know things about “film” have been all abuzz about Mickey Rourke’s performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler ever since it made its debut last month in Toronto. Since then, it appears that everyone else on the web has come on board as well. And despite the fact that we’ve not yet seen the movie for ourselves, we are going to agree that Rourke is a favorite to be nominated for an Oscar for his performance as Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson. What can I say, we love to conform from time to time.

Either way, we’ve got some clips, courtesy of Slashfilm, that may or may not help you form your own opinion about Rourke’s performance. While we can see clearly that they will require the context of the film in order to be really moving, they are still worth watching. First up is a wrestling scene that comes during the final act of the film. It shows Rouke’s ‘Ram’ fighting a wrestler known as ‘The Ayatollah’. And as The Playlist explains, The Ayatollah is based on the WWF’s The Iron Shiek, who was popular during the mid-80s, whereas Rourke’s character is modeled after Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage. Have a look for yourself below.

Next up is the moment in the film that many people are calling Rourke’s Oscar moment. It shows Rourke’s character having an emotional discussion with his daughter, played by Evan Rachel Wood, who is also receiving a little bit of buzz as well. Have a gander below.

The Wrestler will be in theaters on December 19th. It is currently playing at the NY Film Festival. As well, you can check out some clips from the film’s NYFF Press Conference over on Fox Searchlight’s website.

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