Foxcatcher (Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave) – There isn’t an enjoyable moment in this film based on a true story. Honestly. But if you want to see a comedic actor tackle the role of a serious, disturbed aristocrat with a wrestling obsession, Foxcatcher is your film.
Steve Carell dons a prosthetic nose, a body suit, and fake eyelids to assume the persona of John E. du Pont, heir to the international chemical company fortune. Du Pont is a very odd man, a heavy drinker, a cokehead, a self-styled wrestling coach, and a patriot. Set in southeastern Pennsylvania (but shot in southwestern Pennsylvania around the Pittsburgh area) in the mid-1980s, Foxcatcher is named for the Foxcatcher Farms estate of the du Pont’s. The 800-acre sprawling estate is the home of du Pont and his elaborate gym and his mother (Vanessa Redgrave in the most hyped, overrated performance of the year) with her royally bred show and race horses.
Du Pont lures 1984 Olympic gold medalist Mark Schultz to Foxcatcher to train for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, paying him $25,000, giving him a chalet to live in, and introducing him to cocaine and the high life. Schultz (Channing Tatum) is a lonely, reclusive, single-minded wrestler whose entire social experience comes via his brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo), who is also an Olympic champion and is well grounded with a loving family. Meanwhile, du Pont loves wrestling and, with a $500,000 annual contribution, convinces USA Wrestling to headquarter the national team at Foxcatcher and to make him coach. Eventually, Dave comes, too, to serve as the real coach.
From here, the movie becomes a character study with Carell’s du Pont in command. The star of The 40-Year-Old Virgin and innumerable comedies and rom-cons plays du Pont as odd, quirky, humorless, and socially inept (except when he is on drugs). Ruffalo, a solid character actor, is a loving brother, a great husband and father, and a knowledgeable wrestling coach. Tatum is surprisingly authentic as Mark, adopting a gait that makes him walk like he either has a permanent case of jock itch or tried to imitate John Wayne in a cowboy movie. He plays Mark as repressed, needy, and self-loathing when he isn’t winning. Life is all about wrestling to all three major characters.
The story is dark and haunting. The subject is narrow and limited. The pace is slow. It takes more than two hours before the movie picks up its pace, leading to a surprising twist that leaves the audience shocked but unsatisfied.
Carell is attracting much Oscar buzz, and his performance shows he has acting chops. But I never lost Carell in the du Pont character. Go and see this if you want to see good performances but don’t even consider it if you want to be entertained.