Please note that the film has opened in select cities at this time. It is scheduled to open in Phoenix on December 19th so please check your local listings for release information.
Famous for Capote and Moneyball, Director Bennett Miller has been known to direct his actors to Oscar nominated performances. Which is why it not surprising that his new film Foxcatcher, is no different. The trio of Steve Carell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo all deliver stellar performances that will elevate each of their acting profiles to new levels. Most notably for Carell who gains the most by showing that he is more than just a comedic actor.
Carell delivers in his portal of millionaire John Du Pont. His subtle and nuanced performance is palpable to display the eccentricities that Du Pont has developed while living his whole life with money and power, only to be a loner who is constantly seeking his mother’s approval. This goal has him attempting to “inspire and bring hope” back to America by sponsoring and “coaching” a wrestling team with a goal to win Olympic gold. Du Pont backs gold medal winner Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) to put together a team and win. Tatum’s portrayal of Schultz as an unaccepted loner living in his brother’s shadow is solid and balances across from Carell as the two develop an unlikely friendship. The performance between these two is nuanced to the point where they seem to balance each other out. It isn’t until Mark Ruffalo, As David Shultz, joins the team that we really begin to see just how messed up this whole situation is. Ruffalo delivers the best performance in the film as he is the humanizing force between both Mark Shultz and John Du Pont. It will be a shame if he is overlooked for this performance because of Carell’s departure from his previous work.
Now acting aside, while watching this film I realized that the “critic” in me is supposed to like it. The subtle nuanced emotions brought about by fantastic performances and somber lighting and framing feel and look like an “art film.” However that is where my praise of this film stops. Perhaps it is my lack of knowledge of these real life people or of the sport of wrestling, but I never really connect or care about these characters. Sure the actor’s performances are amazing but at the end of the day, the story is not really that fascinating. As a result, I felt the film drag at several points throughout and the pacing seemed to be ambiguously slow in an attempt to be insightful. However rather than thinking longer than necessary about the characters plight, I instead used the time caused by that slow pacing to question just how much of this film is “based on a true story.” Something I rarely do for films of this type. With a running time of 2 hours and 14 minutes you certainly feel it.
In the end I am of two minds for this film. If you are someone who enjoys seeing great performances and likes to study character, then you will want to check it out at some point. The trio of Carell, Tatum and Ruffalo all deliver. However if you are looking for a moving and thought provoking film, you may be disappointed.
Second review by Neil Jordan
Greetings & Salutations Fellow Movie Viewers!
As many of you have noticed, there has been a recent surge in biographical films as of late.
As one noted movie reviewer stated, “You could compare it to the string of comic book movies we’ve seen as well. Biopics can be compared to the ‘origin stories’ of the superheroes we see in those movie adaptions”.
This time out, I get to tell you about one of those biopics in the form of ‘Foxcatcher’. The latest from director Bennett Miller who you may know from great films like ‘Moneyball’ and ‘Capote’ also biopics coincidentally.
‘Foxcatcher’ stars Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Steve Carell, Sienna Miller, and Vanessa Redgrave with an appearance by Anthony Michael Hall and tells an account of Olympic Gold Medal Wrestling Champions, brothers Mark and Dave Schultz and their dealings with their millionaire coach, paranoid-schizophrenic John du Pont who eventually murdered Dave Schultz in 1996.
The film has already been received extremely well by critics and has been praised for the performances of Ruffalo, Tatum, and Carell as the three underwent complete character transformations. The film premiered in May at the Cannes Film Festival and director Bennett Miller took home the award for best director. As someone who has seen the film I can tell you that at first I didn’t recognize any of the three lead actors when their characters first appeared on screen in the movie. I would bet money on this film being nominated for Oscars, Emmys, and any other movie awards that I cannot imagine right now based on their performances alone. Channing Tatum has even been quoted as say that this was the hardest acting challenge he has had to date in his career.
In the course of the film, we see a unique look inside the mind of an Olympic athlete via Canning Tatum’s performance as Mark Schultz and how they start out as ‘pure’ and patriotic and how those athletes can be corrupted with the promise of big money for sponsorship or with the purpose of restoring and repeating the ‘glory and standing’ they experienced previously and how it reaches into their lives and the lives of the athlete’s families. Example, in the film when at coach John du Pont’s (Carell) insistence, Mark tries to convince his brother Dave (Ruffalo) to join him in putting together team ‘Foxcatcher’ to train wrestlers for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. At first, Dave declines for the reason of not wanting to uproot his family from their home. Later on though, when its of du Pont’s opinion that Mark’s efforts are unsatisfactory du Pont takes matters into his own hands and convinces Dave himself of signing on thereby alienating Mark from and then from his brother. Eventually, the brothers reconcile but this appears to enrage du Pont who’se already starting to display the symptoms associated with paranoid-schizophrenia. Which some say is the true culprit behind du Pont’s mixer of Dave Schultz.
I would personally give this film 4 out of 5 stars. Bennett Miller couldn’t have done a better job directing this film and once again, the performances by Tatum, Ruffalo, and Carell were amazing and I have no doubt that they will become major millstones in their careers. However, there is the obvious downside of knowing the outcome in this particular instance. Although I did indeed enjoy the film it was also for all intents and purposes, the film was basically a two hour march to death for the character of Dave Schultz which was a major bummer. But hey, that’s not the fault of anyone involved in the film. That’s just what happens when you watch a true crime story. That’s my only gripe in regards to the film though. I say go see it. It is a two hour film though so be sure you grab a meal and a few beverages before you hit the theater.
This is your friendly neighborhood freelance photographer ‘The CameraMan’ and on behalf of my fellows at ‘Skewed & Reviewed’ , thanks for reading … and we’ll see you at the movies!
2.5 stars out of 5
