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.
