Dark Story Handled With Skill
Foxcatcher is a film so disturbing that it reduces audiences to absolute
silence. Three exceptional central performances under the tight control of
director Bennett Miller bring an unimaginable true story to life in all its
ugliness. The facts of the film are borne out by old news reports of the case.
John Eleuthere du Pont was an heir to the Du Pont fortune. As he describes
himself, “I am “an ornithologist, conchologist, philatelist, coach, and sports
enthusiast.” After seeing the movie, I can add that he was also a mentally ill
manipulator of men by virtue of his money.
Du Pont
(Steve Carell) lives in a mansion on several hundred family acres called
Foxcatcher Farms near his mother Jean (Vanessa Redgrave), a fabled horsewoman
who has collected 30,000 show ribbons and disapproves of her son. John hates
horses, loves wrestlers. He has built a luxurious training center where he lures
aspiring Olympians to live and train in pursuit of Gold. All will wear shirts
emblazoned with “Team Foxcatcher.”
His first
lure is Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum), already an Olympic Gold Medal winner and
a man whose nearly unbroken silence signals a troubled past. Brother Dave
Schultz (Mark Ruffalo), also an Olympic contender, will come to Foxcatcher later. The interplay
between du Pont and Mark is rich with silence, pause, hidden agenda and finally
anger.
When brother
Dave accepts du Pont’s invitation to live and train in luxury, we watch the
richest man in America posing as head coach of a crew of aspirants in a sport
that is, at best, brutal body combat. On the afternoon his mother comes to watch
a match, her son John, the paranoid patriot, says: “Mother, I’m leading men, I’m
giving America hope.” Her response, as she swivels her wheelchair toward the
door: “It’s a low sport and I don’t like to see you being low.” Vanessa Redgrave
gives this small moment all the power it deserves.
The sight of
a rich man using his power to buy men he wants may seem outdated now, but this
is the money/power/sex equation of an earlier time when pretense, at least in
public, trumped everything else. Rectitude above all.
Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo never once break the unpleasant
mood of their story. As they stare each other down in long pauses, we interpret
everything left unsaid – anger, dominance, and desire. Channing Tatum’s Mark
finally erupts, Steve Carell’s du Pont
loses his thin hold on sanity and Mark Ruffalo’s Dave is erased.
Steve Carell
is superb in a difficult and challenging role. You are not likely ever to step
completely free of the impact of the electric scene when he changes the whole
film in one stroke. The degree to which the movie affects an audience is a
tribute to both director and cast. You’ll be glad when it’s over but you’ll take
the feel of it with you. Just try to shake it.
Movie Critic : JOAN ELLIS
Film Title : Foxcatcher
Word count : 495
Studio : Sony Pictures Classics
Running time : 2:14
Rating : R
Copyright (c) Illusion