Reviews

Foxcatcher film review starring Steve Carell scores 4 out of 5

Posted on: 2015-01-19

Foxcatcher is a compelling study of the dark heart of American sport, its temptations and deceptions, the possibilities and the pitfalls. The unfolding tragedy of the story and the stellar performances will keep you hooked right until the very end.

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Steve Carell is another in a long line of comedians to dip his toe into serious acting waters, here serving up a chilling characterisation as eccentric billionaire and sports enthusiast, John du Pont in the film Foxcatcher. In all fairness, the entire cast is on top form with each getting superb performances coaxed out of them by director Bennett Miller. 

It's based on the true story of Olympic champion wrestler, Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum), who has forever lived in the shadow of his brother, Dave (Mark Ruffalo) but is given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when he's summoned and taken under the wing of du Pont at his Foxcatcher Farm in Pennsylvania. Despite having no real experience of the game, the oddball plutocrat intends to use his wealth to create and coach a team and win the Olympic gold at the 1988 Olympic games. Things don't go according to plan. 

It doesn't take long to get past Carell's prosthetic conk and grey hair, and he turns in a performance that by turns riveting, terrifying, detached and charming. There's minimal movement and facial expressions, and there's always an unsettling air of simmering, unpredictable menace. It's easy to see why he's been heaped (as has the film) with accolades and awards nominations, and it's perhaps the most engrossing comedian-to-serious-actor turn since Robin Williams in One Hour Photo. Carell adroitly taps into the character nuances of a beleaguered, self-absorbed, self-loathing, isolated loner, resentful of the fact he's never had the skills to strike the top of the sport. He, like Schultz, has largely lived in the shadow of someone else (his mother), and despite all his influence, wealth and power, he is ultimately always the outsider. 

It's a study of competitive men, how power corrupts, and a dark and festering analysis of the American Dream turned well and truly sour.  It's not always an easy watch, in fact it's very often uncomfortable, pausing on awkward silences and uneasy expressions; a slow-burning deconstruction of how one minute everything seems possible but is just as quickly snapped away with seemingly brutal, unpredictable malice.  

Tatum and Ruffalo excel as the two brothers, able to get physical wrestling but unable to verbally articulate their relationship or how they feel about each other.Tatum in particular is a bulked-up, brooding, seething conduit of intensity and anger, and his devastating fall from grace is as unbearable as it is inevitable. 

Foxcatcher is a compelling study of the dark heart of American sport, its temptations and deceptions, the possibilities and the pitfalls. It's gritty, tough, demanding cinema for sure, but the unfolding tragedy of the story and the stellar performances will keep you hooked right until the very end.  

4/5

Reviewed by Jamie Caddick for 365Bristol - the leading events and entertainment website for Bristol
 

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