Foxcatcher

Having read the story of Foxcatcher and the infamous John du Pont before watching the film, I was interested to see how Bennett Miller would retell this story of triumph and tragedy. My first thought was that despite the background context being important to immerse the viewer initially into the film, that Foxcatcher did take some time to really get going but once it did, I was drawn in by the complexity of the several relationships between the different characters in the film. Whilst it obviously being based on a true story, it is always interesting to see how a director adapts a story to portray as a film, and generally I think Miller nailed it. It appears to have been a very difficult story to adapt for film, with especially Steve Carrell and Mark Ruffalo (both deservedly Oscar nominated for their roles), having to really research their characters who are both deceased and put their own spin on two out of three integral characters in the film.

This film, despite it being a very good story, is really all about the actors for me. There is no denying that playing the role of the child-like, schizophrenic John du Pont is career changing performance for Steve Carrell. His ability to adapt from comedy actor to a real serious contender for this years Academy Award for best male actor for such an excellent performance is incredible. What really stood out for me was how I really felt Carrell was a psychopath, du Pont's twisted sick fantasy trying to fulfill his own childhood dream and to impress his mother who depraved him as a child. The standout scene was when the wrestlers chant his name and the sinister grin that appears on his face, he feels that fulfillment of his fantasy. To me he appeared like a cult leader, with his followers worshiping him like a god, and that for me is what made this film so good, as I was so captivated by Carrell's every syllable and movement, I didn't take my eyes of the screen or him for that matter. I felt Miller despite making Carrell the star also brought out the best in Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo. Tatum certainly gave the best performance of his career, and showed his clear dramatic range by portraying such an emotionally damaged character so perfectly, and despite many of the plaudits going to Ruffalo and Carrell, I feel Tatum was sadly unrecognized for a top drawer performance. Ruffalo was the final piece of the puzzle for me; he brought together all three characters perfectly, portraying the complex relationship between David (Tatum), Mark (Ruffalo) and du Pont (Carrell). Without him, the film would have perhaps not been as impressive, as despite Carrell's star-turn, a poorly acted David would have destroyed the excellent structure that the film has. Overall Bennett Miller nailed his casting for the three main characters who all brought out the best in each other, unfortunately for both Ruffalo and Carrell, it doesn't appear as if they will be taking home their Oscar gongs, but certainly a performance like this from Carrell can accelerate his dramatic career and I believe there will much more where that come from for him.


On the whole, I feel that this was definitely a good film, not totally amazing, which is why I wasn't surprised it failed to receive a nomination for the Best Picture Oscar. However, Bennett Miller directed this film excellently, and one aspect I found particularly strong bar the acting was the music, it all sounded very child-like, which perfectly represents not just du Pont's twisted life but also the complicated emotional relationship between Mark (Tatum) and du Pont.  I have already mentioned the acting which in my opinion was brilliant and really did make this film much more worthwhile to watch, and certainly made it hard to look away from the screen at times. I would definitely recommend this film to those who want to see a truly dark but brilliantly told story, and would give this film a solid rating of 8/10.