So Mickey Rourke didn’t win the Oscar for Best Actor for “The Wrestler,” but perhaps he wins the honor for Best Jesus Performance of 2008? In the fascinating, insightful article “Pop-Eye: Meat The Wrestler,” by Brent Plate, Plate wonders the following:
“How did reviewers from the New York Times to Christianity Today miss the obvious religious references in this Oscar-nominated hit? Did they blink and reach for popcorn at the images of a tattooed Jesus Christ on Randy’s back, or was it more about the myth of modern individualism and body-soul dualism?”
And then compares Rourke’s performance as the battered, broken, Randy “The Ram” Robinson to that of Jesus in Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ,” and Cassidy (Marissa Tomei) as the only one who truly sees the savior in her beaten down husband:

“Cassidy sees Jesus as a real wrestler, showing both her investment in the fiction of the violence, but equally her invested belief in Randy as a tough dude. Theirs is a physical Jesus, a body that could take it, á la Gibson’s Christ; unlike Gibson, Aronofsky’s tale is disinvested of tacky teardrops falling from the sky and cheap-trick resurrections.”
With this in mind, is it possible that Aronofsky’s Wrestler-Jesus somehow bests Gibson’s “Real” Jesus? What do you think? Post your comments below.