i though they could have gone a little deeper into the relationship between tomei and rourke. it felt a little too forced to me. like one minute he was a creepy customer and the next minute she fell for him. i thought they could have done more to get there. it almost felt like their connection was forced.

she was always a friend to him more so than any other customer, you saw that with their first on screening. i think she was very hesitant at first to do anything more, but you could see she was very troubled with it and that is what made her performance so great and why she is being recognized.

he broke her down steadily through the movie until she realized they weren't so different and that he was more than just a customer and she started to care. even at the end when she went to his match, you could still see her contradictions in feelings and wondering if she was doing the right thing and i don't think she really, truly "fell" for him, not by the end at least, but he did penetrate the barrier to give her some strong emotions

maybe i read it a little wrong at the first on-screening. to me, she was a typical stripper, playing up to a regular customer to get more tips. heck, they even ended the scene with her putting her hand out, asking for $60 and he gave her $100 telling her to keep the change. mission accomplished.

i still feel like they should have developed it a little more. even just one more scene to develop the relationship. to me, all they had was their strip club time and the one date they went to Elizabeth and to the bar. heck, i even thought the kiss was a little out of nowhere. not him kissing her, but her reciprocating. But maybe that's because I had it in my head that her whole befriending of him at the strip club was her act. maybe if I allowed myself to believe that she really did consider him a friend it would have been easier to accept.

I think you are definitely off there. I also think they had a pre-existing relationship before the first scene they shared in the film.