Throughout the last few years, Robert Pattinson has continually proven that he’s one of the most compelling actors of our generation, and he cements this fact with a brilliant performance in Mickey 17. Pattinson’s role in Hollywood is always so gripping as it’s apparent that he isn’t in it for the spotlight. He clearly loves acting, and he’s excellent at it, but it’s also obvious that the spotlight makes him uncomfortable. And despite the fact that I don’t know him personally, it’s also obvious that he’s not the type of actor who’s taking on roles for the sake of winning awards. Frankly, I’m sure we care more than he does.
Still, there’s something so gratifying about watching an actor take on vastly different roles and successfully escaping into each of them to showcase where the greatness in the artistry lies. My introduction to Robert Pattinson, like most people’s, was as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Yet, it wasn’t until Remember Me that I deemed him someone whose career I was interested in following. In addition, like most teenagers, I, too, found myself entranced by a sparkling Pattinson in the Twilight saga.
Pattinson has been in a number of productions afterward, like Water for Elephants, The Lighthouse, and Tenet, but it wasn’t until he stepped into the role of Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves’ The Batman that I realized that he could, in fact, do anything. Anyone who knows me knows that Christian Bale’s Batman has such an important place in my life that I have an incredibly hard time watching others. Yet, something about Pattinson taking on the role made it easy to jump into because everything he does makes the character his own. At the same time, there’s also the voice work he delivers in The Boy and the Heron that shows different acting chops.
But everything that Robert Pattinson does in Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 officially tells the world he’s the type of actor worthy of far more praise. Pattinson’s voice and accent work alone is jaw-dropping in the role, and pair that with his ability to play different versions of the same character, and we have a skillset few actors manage as exceptionally. Pattinson’s every line delivery, every expression, and every physical movement in the film make it what it is as he brings to our screen something that’s quietly compelling, sad, and honest.
As a whole, Mickey 17 is, unfortunately, no Parasite in the form of a truly perfect film from start to finish, but it’s hard to imagine it having the same impact without someone like Robert Pattinson at the center. He does something so evocatively heartbreaking that the film’s magic shines because of what he brings to the table. An actor’s ability to escape into a role and make us forget who else they’ve played is where the key to a captivating performance lies. In Mickey 17, we aren’t looking at the man who’s played Edward Cullen, Bruce Wayne, or Cedric Diggory. We’re only seeing variations of Mickey Barnes and a heartbreakingly raw performance from Robert Pattinson.
Mickey 17 is now streaming on HBO Max.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Warner Bros.