I will say that Foxcatcher is a hard film to get my head around. It's an amazing experience on many levels but ultimately I think it's a movie that will garner more admiration than actual affection.
Foxcatcher tells the story of two brothers, Mark and Dave Shultz, both Olympic gold medal wrestlers, and John Du Pont, the bizarre and reclusive billionaire that seeks to sponsor them for another medal run. Let me say at the outset that the cast is uniformly superb. Channing Tatum demonstrates that he's no lightweight here, turning in a layered and nuanced performance as a man that while a champion in sports is plagued by deep feelings of inadequacy and self doubt. He came from a broken home, being raised by and in the shadow of his older brother Dave. No matter what he achieves on the mat he can't translate it to any success in life, and he feels trapped by the shadow of his more successful brother (played with sensitivity and warmth by Mark Ruffalo). Shultz and Du Pont seem from different worlds but we soon see that John "The Golden Eagle of America" Du Pont is just as trapped trying to live up to the expectations of the family name and starves for love and recognition that he seems unable to find. Events sweep up these broken men and move them along inexorably towards a tragic conclusion. Steve Carrell is a revelation here; physically unrecognizable his portrayal of Du Pont is scarcely even human. The effect is uncanny.
As an exercise in cinema the movie is engrossing. The actors inhabit their roles so thoroughly that it's easy to be drawn into their Cold-War-world. But for all the wonderful performances, we don't really see any development. We travel from event from event but are never moved. We increasingly see how broken the protagonists are but we never see them evolve. When the inevitable comes we sense that it must but we're no closer to understanding why than when the movie began. Steve Carrell's reptilian Du Pont is frightening and very convincing but we gain no insight into his mind nor the twisted thoughts that send events spinning over the brink into madness. The conclusion leaves more questions than answers.
I could easily see a number of Academy awards for this film, but not Best Picture. Carrell emerges as a major dramatic force, and Tatum proves that he has the chops to transcend the comedies and action films that have made him a star.
I would recommend this film, actually, with some reservations. As I've said, it's something to be admired but probably not loved. It takes us into a very dark world, skillfully and artfully. Worth a watch but be warned that it's a disturbing experience.
