Moneyball director Bennett Miller’s latest peek behind the curtain of American sport is a much darker, unsettling biopic. Instead of Brad Pitt’s highlighted hairdo we have erstwhile funnyman, Steve Carell.
Foxcatcher is refreshingly unique. Whether it’s good is something that still needs wrestling over.
You’re never sure what’s evolving in front of your eyes, the odd chuckle elicited one minute, the next you’re uncomfortably shuffling in your seat or wincing at one of the excruciatingly sound edited scenes of self-flagellation.
John Du Pont (Steve Carell) is heir to a fortune amassed via chemical engineering, one which makes him a member of the richest family in America. He lives with his mother (Vanessa Redgrave) on an expansive estate; she tends to her prize winning horses, whilst he stalks the corridors longing to establish a legacy.
His attention turns towards Olympic wrestling champion siblings, David and Mark Schultz (Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum), who he wishes to coach towards the 1988 Seoul games.
First he lures the younger, more conflicted brother onto his Stepford Wives estate with promises of financial and patriarchal support. When their strange friendship goes awry, David arrives with his small family, a move which dominoes into a creepier, altogether more tragic turn of events.
Kept at arms length by the cold visual palette, Miller’s film is as emotionally inaccessible as its characters, with an intentionally distanced mood that is hard to warm to. This overtly dull colour scheme perfectly complements the shuffling spectres that play out this macabre true story.
Interaction is reduced to awkward exchanges or looks, particularly in Du Pont’s case, and the Schultz brothers’ relationship is brilliantly established by a largely dialogue free sequence during which they wrestle each other. David, with his discipline and tact, is juxtaposed with Mark’s aggressive primal instinct.
It’s indicative of the skill on display from this triumvirate of actors that, Carrel’s make-up aside, they are subtle to the point of being unremarkable.
It’s this docudrama level of normalcy which establishes a tone that makes the weirder aspects of Du Pont’s behaviour not feel like caricature, and massively benefits the defibrillator effect of the final reel’s shocking plot twists.
At this point it’s probably worth recommending that you don’t Wikipedia the events that Foxcatcher is depicting. This slow-burn journey of unease will be serviced much better by your ignorance.
Carell will no doubt receive the advanced notices for playing leftfield against type, and he does a superb job upping the creep factor with his Norman Bates style mannerisms and uncomfortable social skills.
There is a scene in which he gets carried away during a wrestling team celebration that is hard to watch, a combination of pity and revulsion, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg for his portrayal of this eccentric mother’s boy. Carell is reptilian, very hard to read, the audience never sure whether his statuesque face is going to break into an awkward smile or a scathing attack.
However, the real transformation is Channing Tatum, who graduates by honing the dumb persona he sends up so brilliantly in the Jump Street franchise to make Mark a deeply tortured, hugely sympathetic victim and plaything for Du Pont. His impact wanes as the focus of the story shifts towards David, but Tatum is as good as any of his lauded co-stars. One of whom, Ruffalo, has equal success, but mainly down to being the only normal person depicted in the Foxcatcher world, so we automatically project onto him as the audience.
Sadly, female characters are ill-served. Sienna Miller must have a fantastic performance sitting on a shelf gathering dust in the edit room somewhere, because she’s afforded such little screen time. And whilst it’s great to see Vanessa Redgrave on the big screen, she is wasted as a narrative cipher rather than a rounded character.
Foxcatcher is intoxicating because you’re never sure where it’s leading you, with equally seductive acting performances that will be acknowledged during the awards season, but it’s a hugely underwhelming experience that leaves you with a depressingly empty feeling.
’Foxcatcher’
Director: Bennett Miller
Starring: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Sienna Miller
Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Release date: Jan. 9, 2015 (UK)
3 stars out of 5
Follow Matthew Rodgers on Twitter: @MainstreamMatt
