Review of Foxcatcher (2014) by Dillinger P — 24 Mar 2015

I remember watching the trailer for Foxcatcher and being slightly haunted by its appearance, there was an air the trailer gave out, sinister and dark, yet competitive and compelling. Although nothing like the story I was expecting, Foxcatcher delivers on the trailers promise, even if it does stumble with its footing at points.

Olympic gold medalists Mark and David Schultz train relentlessly at their beloved career, professional wrestling. Although in no way super stars, their talent and high points are continually referenced, with both seen in different lights as some sort of hero's.

However both brothers are effected differently by their career paths and although David is a family orientated and content man, Mark struggles in the shadows of his older brother, never content and leading an empty life.

That is until John Du Pont, a extremely wealthy, powerful and isolated man, takes Mark under his wing at his estate, to not only act as his coach in the run up to the Seoul Olympics but to begin a school called Foxcatcher, where America professional wrestlers are trained up.

John and Marks relationship soon hits rock bottom, as the both tainted men begin to clash, leading to a tense and brooding dramatic turn of events that will haunt you as the credits roll through. There is no denying the talent on offer here, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo and Steve Carrell are all on wonderous form here as our leads.

Tatum really ups his acting chops with a completely damaged and subdued portrayal of a broken man, living in the shadows of the most loveable man on earth his brother, Ruffalo, who just oozes talent in this role.

Loveable, relateable and human. Always under rated, Ruffalo fires out a performance that ranks up there with his best. However a lot of the films appeal and intrigue comes from Carrell, upon watching the trailer and seeing the aged funny man actually pulling off something dark and broken was quite a shock, this film really plays on that and he actually gives one of the most haunting performances by a comedian turned serious, next to say Robin Williams in One Hour Photo or Insomnia.

Although with the aid of some heavy aging make up Carrells performance still manages to shine through, leaving me to look forward to his future outings, especially if he continues down this route. The cinematography is alienating and sparse, the lighting is very subdued and soft, most scenes have a very toned down feel about them.

It's only ever when during an event or during training does any sense of colour come into the frame, but it allows it to stand out somewhat and highlight its importance in the film. The camera work too is uncomforting, allowing for a huge amount of sequences to take place as a wide shot, it really gives a sense of distance between you and the actors, furthering the alienating tone of the entire piece.

This is tripled by the fact that for a huge portion of this film there is little music and limited dialogue, which works brutally in its favour, the moments of silence as Tatum crumbles away from us are desperate and really emotional.

It is an incredibly hard film to watch and I fully understand a couple of viewers discontent with the film, its not the most of inviting pieces but it doesnt want to be. With a slow burning pace, little dialogue and a repetitive training nature, add on top the 2 hour and 10 running time and this film really doesnt want to throw in the towel, its drawn and tense and by the end there is some for of release, however for some viewers I feel getting there might be an issue and im afraid to say the films weak point is that from the get go, you know something really bad is going to happen.

It's still shocking when it finally hits but watching the entire thing unfold is like watching your best mate drunkenly climb up some scaffolding, you know its going to end very badly indeed. Granted the film doesnt exactly hide what it is, it still manages to slog in places.

There are moments that seem interesting that are glossed over or tense sequences that just go on for slightly too long, the viewer can understand determination, uncomfort and turmoil by using a very tightly constructed sequence and although here the film does utilize this structure it draws it out in places for far longer than needed, something I feel ultimately hurts the pacing of the film somewhat.

Also there are moments when Foxcatcher feels like it was made to win awards, fair enough, it is a gritty drama with some stand out performances but some scenes come across as clearly baiting for that golden statue.

If you can put that aside and sit quietly while immersing yourself, you will respect this film, enjoy is a strong word for something this ghostly.