Foxcatcher is a great film. A mesmerizing story layered with underlying themes of ambition, power, jealousy, rivalry and insecurity comes together with impeccable acting performances and a cold, slow and melancholic style. Director Bennett Miller, after making the fantastic Capote and Moneyball, made yet another stylish and intriguing drama.
Nominated for three Golden Globes (Best Film, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor), the film is based on the true story of John du Pont (played by an unrecognizable (!) Steve Carrell), one of America’s wealthiest in the 1980’s, who offers to take Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum), then olympic wrestler together with equally successful older brother Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo), into his management at his custom built training facility on the family’s private estate. John not only has a passion for winning, patriotism and wrestling, he convinces Mark of his independent potential without being in his brother’s shadow.
John is deeply egotistic, and his self proclaimed role of mentor and father figure to the naive yet equally insecure Mark creates a slowly growing sadness as to why these two are heading towards a more destructive relationship. The whole setting on the estate is more eerie and cold rather than glamorous and joyous. Du Pont’s loneliness and growing frustration with his sense of rejection by his mother is portrayed in his treatment of Mark, who often seems to serve more as a fulfillment of personal accomplishment. Mark’s older brother, Dave, has a much more stable life and his dynamic to understand and coach Mark more sufficiently is a necessity for Du Pont to add him to the training team. Yet this merely grows John’s feelings of inadequacy, rivalry and resentment, moving this story to an unexpected conclusion.
The film deals so well with all the characters through a series of brilliantly performed scenes, including a stunning piece by Dave (Mark Ruffalo) who has to describe Du Pont as his ‘mentor’ in his orchestrated documentary. Steve Carrell does an incredible job as a pathetic and disturbed John du Pont, not only thanks to his physical performance but through his mannerisms and awkwardly distanced conversations. Yes, this is the same guy who plays ‘Brick’ in Anchorman, and with two months to go, there is every reason for him to start preparing his Oscar speech. Channing Tatum is equally flawless as Mark Schultz, played with such self-doubt and naivety, perfectly orchestrating his dynamic with his brother Dave without being over-explanatory. There is no doubt that he has really grown into an A-class actor.
I thoroughly enjoyed Foxcatcher, and it definitely has a place on my list of this year’s best (2014’s film season runs till March). It’s a beautiful Film of the Week, go see it!
Foxcatcher was released on the 1st of January 2015, and is now playing in all major cinemas in South Africa
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