Foxcatcher Review

Starring: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave, Sienna Miller

Foxcatcher is a deeply disturbing film. Many may know the story of the Foxcatcher wrestling team, the Schultz brothers, and John du Pont. I won't spoil the ending (though it is horrific, to say the least), but John du Pont was the heir to the Du Pont dynasty's fortune. He starts this wrestling team named after the Du Pont's Foxcatcher farm, and recruits brothers Mark and Dave Schultz to join his Olympic team. What follows is a story of lies, betrayal, domination, and submission. The whole movie is disturbing, but it's Carell's performance that really puts the nail in the coffin. As John du Pont, Carell makes the movie what it is. I'll get into the other actors later, but this really is Steve Carell's movie. And his body language is spot-on. You would never guess this was Steve Carell if you didn't already know it. He has completely transformed for this role, which may be the best of his career so far.

Besides Carell's acting, the other two main characters also give phenomenal performances. As this movie looked incredibly dark, the performances were the only reason I really wanted to see Foxcatcher. A lot of the actors use their body language to an incredibly effect. For Carell, his body language is what makes his performance so eerie. When he opens his mouth, the words are usually some profound cliché, that could be considered good acting. But his body language is what really makes you dumbfounded with his acting ability. Channing Tatum plays Mark Schultz, the object of du Pont's obsession, and he is great as well. I feel bad that Carell is getting all the praise and awards recognition for his performance, while Tatum should be getting some too. Both are considered leads, and when they share screen time it's like a battlefield. As Mark, he perfectly conveys his inner struggle. While we never know what du Pont did to Mark, besides mentally abuse him, we feel bad for him nonetheless. Tatum has also transformed his face and body to take on the role of a determined wrestler. The real knockout performance is Mark Ruffalo as Dave Schultz. Ruffalo is a guy who plays the supporting role in most movies, and it must be because he is so good at it. He is the moral compass of the three leads. He's the always supportive brother of Mark, who becomes the assistant coach at Foxcatcher, and the object of du Pont's envy. He is, after all, the real coach. And he has Mark, while du Pont is losing him. I was amazed at how different Ruffalo was. He changed his voice, face, and body for this movie.

To really understand this movie, you have to have a little background on the Du Pont family. The film fills you in pretty nicely, but it's good to have some knowledge of the subject. The Du Pont family is the wealthiest family in America, and head the Du Pont chemical company. In this time, Jean du Pont, John's mother, runs the company. She has many awards for horse competition, and she is really obsessed with them if you ask me. John has problems of his own, but I think his mother is where many of his behavioral issues come from. He had one friend. And his mother paid that friend. She was so consumed with wealth, she didn't care for her child, and he's always tried to impress her. I think he suddenly decides on wrestling to prove her wrong, as she has preconceived ideas on the sport. He's unable to, and one scene where she visits a practice is the only time we see him become a human, rather than the creature we've seen for the rest of the film. He tries so hard to show her he's a good coach, but as she leaves his practice with disgust, you see his face fall. While I don't condone any of his actions, I blame his mother for a lot of his issues. And Vanessa Redgrave plays the character perfectly. She has only one dialogue scene, but her body language makes her performance an instantly hateable one.

I don't have that much more to say about Foxcatcher. The directing choices are interesting. He opts to have more silence than dialogue. The score will play when you watch actors, and watch their mouths moving, but hear nothing of what they're saying. I think this further emphasizes my point that body language is so important in this movie. I have a few problems I'd also like to mention. I hated how slow it felt. Yes, it was tense in a few parts, specifically the ending, but I felt I'd been in that theater for three hours, not barely two. I enjoyed it, but it was just so slow. I had some problems with the subject matter, but that's just a warning that this movie is incredibly dark and disturbing. I wonder if the Academy will even embrace it. I think Ruffalo is a lock, but Carell for Best Actor and the movie for Best Picture might be difficult to nominate, because of how disturbing this movie and his performance is. They should, but I don't know if they can. So only see Foxcatcher if you're familiar with the story, and if you're okay with a lot of dark content. You may not enjoy all of it, but you'll appreciate how good of a movie it is.

Rating: