Review of Foxcatcher (2014) by Scott N — 24 Apr 2015

I remember hearing Stanley Kubrick say during the making of the Shining that its not enough for something to be real . It also must be interesting. Foxcatcher has elements of realism but seems to go out of its way to be interesting. Its beyond boring . Its dreary in its glum dullness.

On its own the documentary style would not have bothered me, but when combined with the dreadful melancholy piano soundtrack and Channing Tatum's glum potrayal of Mark Shultz, I just thought this movie was going out of its way to be dreary.

I admit to a personal dislike of slow, soft piano music. But objectively I wonder what were they thinking. The movie is slow and sombre enough as it is. Sure its a sad story but its supposed to be a story nonetheless. There should be some interest .

At times the movie appears to be a mockery of arthouse cinema, with long quiet periods, empty spaces between cuts. It all just got excessively dreary. It makes me appreciate directors like Danny Boyle and David Fincher all the more. They know how to keep a movie moving. Bennett Miller apparently has a background in documentaries. And ok I can understand the artistic intention to let the characters be realistic and without interference but this was extreme. I resist using words like pompous or pretentious but it all amounts to it. Funny thing is I wanted to like this movie and was looking forward to watching it. Not for me.