Sunday morning and we were planning to go and see The Interview for a giggle. Then I realised "The Oscars are on next Monday - eek! Better go see the rest of the movies I haven't seen". So after a quick comparison of options for the remaining films on the list, we decided to go and see Foxcatcher which obviously hasn't been as popular as the other films. Couldn't be further from The Interview!
Foxcatcher is another 'based on true events' story that seem to be very popular with the Oscars voters this year (competing with American Sniper, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything). It comes directed by Bennet Miller, the guy who brilliantly reinvented sports films with Moneyball a few years back. This one also puts sport into the background of a character study and mood piece, although the mood is a lot darker here.
We are introduced to Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) who, despite winning a gold medal in wrestling at the 1984 Olympics, seems to be pretty down on his luck and a loner. His older brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo aka The Hulk), also a wrestler and gold medallist at the same Olympics, seems to be the only close friend he has as he struggles to make enough money to survive as well as train for the next World Championships and Olympics. We don't need too many scenes of Mark's lower lip jutting out to know that he's going to say 'yes' pretty quickly when he's approached by multimillionaire philanthropist, philatelist, ornithologist and amateur sports enthusiast John du Pont (Steve Carell) to join a wrestling team he's putting together. John has set up his family's estate, known as Foxcatcher Farm, to be the ultimate training facility and he even puts Mark on the payroll and lets him stay in the Chalet full-time. He allows Mark to pick a team of guys to train and compete with, and John particularly wants Dave to come and be his assistant coach, an offer which Dave initially refuses as he doesn't want to uproot his young family.
Within minutes of meeting John du Pont, you will be ill at ease. He is a strange individual, sometimes warm and friendly but more often than not cold and detached. He looks down his rather large nose at everyone (great makeup effects on Carell) like a king surveying his peasant subjects. At once superior and inferior. He pulls people to him then shuts them out if they get too close. He is obviously trying to please his snobbish mother but seems not to know how. He is delusional over his abilities as a coach and athlete (he became a wrestler after age 50). It's a magnetic, creepy performance by Carell, who comes across like a tightly coiled spring where you never know what he's going to do next.
The story follows a very linear path from Mark firstly enjoying du Pont's patronage and then becoming disillusioned, bringing big brother Dave along for the roller coaster ride of emotions as they hurtle towards the 1988 Olympics. Channing Tatum is good as Mark, if a little too simian for my liking, but Mark Ruffalo is really excellent as Dave the peacekeeper and key to Team Foxcatcher's success. If not for JK Simmons in Whiplash, I think this would have been his year at the Oscars for Best Supporting Actor. He really looks like a wrestler, even in everyday conversation he stands with his hands out and shoulders hunched, ready to rumble, but is actually a very nice guy.
The outcome of this triangular relationship all with the same goal in mind is best left for you to discover. It's a little slow-moving and probably won't need multiple viewings due to the linear structure, but it's a compelling film and interesting view into the mind of a man with a lot of money and very few friends and also the sad state of overlooked sports in America.
I give this 7 out of 10 for great performances and being something a little different than the norm.
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