The bulk of the awards season chatter for Bennett Miller’s “Foxcatcher” has centered around
the revelatory performances of stars Steve Carell and
Channing Tatum. As the distorted mentor and mentee at the center of Miller’s
grimly compelling true-crime drama, both actors deliver transformative
performances showcasing abilities beyond anything either has previously
demonstrated.
Tatum portrays Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler Mark
Schultz, the wounded heart of the film’s tragic tale. Despite his successes,
Mark has spent his life in the shadow of his older brother, Dave (Mark Ruffalo), also a decorated wrestler. Good-natured and
well-liked, Dave is a family man with a thriving career as a coach, whereas
Mark is a lug who’s grown jealous of everything his brother has. When Mark
receives a call from eccentric millionaire John du Pont (Carell)
offering to sponsor the wrestler’s quest toward the 1988 Olympics, Mark jumps
at the opportunity. Blinded by a need to finally be the special one, he moves
onto the du Pont family estate at Foxcatcher Farms,
where John has built a world-class training facility he hopes will function as home
base for the national wrestling team. Things turn sour, however, once it
becomes clear that du Pont sees Mark as means to get to his brother, who’s a
more natural fit to lead the team.
Carell’s performance has been
presented as a major departure from what audiences are used to seeing from the
comedian, though in truth it’s not far removed from his role as Michael Scott
on “The Office.” Like Scott, du Pont desires to be taken seriously as a leader,
cluelessly setting himself up as mentor to men far
beyond his capabilities. Viewing himself as a patriot doing his part to inspire
America, he even asks to be referred to by his preferred nickname, “Golden
Eagle.” If the film tends to present du Pont as too obviously a nutjob, Carell underplays the
part (even underneath layers of makeup) countering any sense of cartoonishness. Tatum’s performance shows once again how
underrated his abilities as an actor have been. He nails the physicality of the
role while capably conveying the interior mindset of a man desperate to prove
his worth. As good as Carell and Tatum both are, Mark
Ruffalo is even better; his is the smaller role, but
Dave is a fully-realized and sympathetic character.
With “Foxcatcher,” director Bennett
Miller has crafted a chilly film, both in aesthetic and mood. He’s aided by the
film’s editing, which allows moments to hang for uncomfortable amounts of time,
building a constant sense of dread. E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman’s
script has significantly rearranged and condensed the timeline of events to
present possible reasons for du Pont’s actions, suggesting that a major motive
was the desire to prove himself to a withering mother figure (Vanessa
Redgrave). In depicting the deadly results of a poisonous cocktail of vanity,
ambition, and ego, the film provides a haunting, twisted skewering of American
exceptionalism.
This article appears in Dec 10-16, 2014.
