Foxcatcher
- Review (2014)
Director
– Bennett Miller
Stars
– Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo
Loews
Theatre - NYC
As I walked into the Loews Theatre on
Lincoln Square I was met with hundreds of teenage fans eager to see one of the
many showings of ‘The Hunger Games –
Mocking Jay part 1’. I realized that I had chosen perhaps the wrong day to
see one of my most anticipated films
of the year, Foxcatcher. After pushing through these fairly loud patrons I was
met with the next task of finding the right screen, One would assume this would
be easy, yet Loews theatre (although I liked it) decides to ‘name’ their
screens instead of a slightly easier numerical system, so on I went to ‘Screen: Olympus’ The grand name matched
the expectation I had for the movie in store and also its audience, once in
this enormous room I was met with an almost full capacity turn out which was a
surprise. This was one of the lower budget, slow burner dramas that acts as a
polar opposite to many of its November weekend contenders. Although as again
expected the audience consisted of a middle aged/elderly demographic that is
always a good sign, you know these older people will shush people quicker than
you any day.
Foxcatcher opened by showing old eerie
footage of the titular character on ‘The Richest family in America’s estate’
each person dressed ready for the hunt and the last shot of a fox being
released running for its life, cut to the opening credits. This somber and dark
tone set the mood for the next 134 minutes, this is in no way a bad thing, it
was exactly what this story needed and by the end it would ultimately stand as
a metaphor for the events that took place on John Du Pont’s (Carell) Estate. What
struck me the most was how amazing all three leads were, Ruffalo and Tatum had
clearly spent hours learning how to wrestle like professionals and this showed
when they were battling each other. The highest praise must be saved for Steve
Carell who shows that comic actors are often the darkest when playing these
roles, certain moments in his performance made you want to just clean yourself
they were that unsettling. From his smile to the way he longs for his mothers
approval even to the point he pretends how to coach the team. The narrative
shows that Du Pont has ‘bought’ Mark (Tatum) and David (Ruffalo) Schultz as he
is obsessed with wrestling and winning gold, and there is one amazing scene
where we see Mark Ruffalo wrestling himself when he is asked if Du Pont is an
inspiration and his mentor. It’s a sad story and one where the surprise
strength comes from Channing Tatum’s performance, proving that he is one of the
best serious actors around, he manages to shine with innocence until he sees Du
Pont for who he is and the film quickly shifts gear into his hatred for John.
Carell should win an Oscar for his performance along with his other comrades,
he is outstanding in the way he shows on so many levels how disturbed and sad
Du Pont is, whilst at times making us feel sorry for him.
Foxcatcher is an excellent film, one that I
am looking forward to seeing again. Its only downfall is that it is sometimes
static; in places it can be moved forward at a slightly quicker pace. However
there is a supposed 4-hour long cut that I would love to see just for more
moments between the cast. Its ending has such a mighty impact that everyone in
the theatre was screaming and shocked, and when they left people were fiercely
debating why Du Pont had done these things. Foxcatcher has already gained much
praise, lets hope its leads get the same come awards season.
RATING: 4/5
Written by Joshua Tanner
