A Beautiful Film about deconstructing the American Dream

Rating: 9/10 (29 December 2014)

Ever since I saw the preview for Foxcatcher on television, I thought it would be a dark and intriguing film. Since the true story its based on, happened to end in tragedy itself. The films main character is Channing Tatum who plays Olympic Wrester Mark Schultz. From the very beginning, we get a clear sense of what kind of person Mark is, one who always seems to carry an extra load of pressure, and longing for a father figure. This is one of the reasons why its so easy for him to latch onto Jon Du Pont when they finally meet. Up until that point, we also meet Dave Schultz (played by Mark Ruffalo) and his family, Dave is a Wrestling trainer and coach at a local high school. Unlike Mark, Dave has a great personality, family and seems to be more passionate when it comes to the art of the sport. He also possesses the confidence that Mark needs when it comes winning a gold medal the second time. It becomes obvious as the movie progresses that the glitz and glamour of being a Olympic Gold Medalist isn't all that its cracked up to be. We are shown that Mark lives in poverty, making twenty dollar paychecks talking to elementary school students, and people barely can differentiate him from his brother Dave. This identity crisis propels Mark to head too Foxcatcher Farms when he receives a call from the estate of Jon DuPont( played by the great Steve Carell). It isn't until Mark meets Jon Dupont for the first time where they instantly form a bond between each other(Both consider themselves Patriots and want to make America the best country again). Jon asks Mark if he and Dave will come stay out at Foxcatcher Farms and train for the 88' Olympics, in which Mark agrees but says his brother can't be persuaded(Dave eventually comes there midway through film, because the pay offer is so good). Another major theme of the film is how wealth can make someone worse off than they originally were. In real life, Jon Dupont's family was wealthy eccentrics who had a huge stake in chemicals, oil and thoroughbred breeding among other things. It's also been documented that the early Dupont's all partook in incestry to keep the family blood line the same generation after generation. These factors and many other contribute to the eeriness of the Dupont character even more, and throughout the film we also get to meet Duponts mother (played by Vanessa Redgrave). She psychologically destroys Dupont's ambitions and wants, and we can see in many scenes how hard Jon tries to rekindle his relationship with her but fails miserably.. to the point of coaching a wrestling team when Dupont possessed little to none wrestling experience, often relying on his own wrestlers like Mark and Dave for advice.. Out of all the characters, Jon Dupont (Steve Carell) was definitely the most interesting anddisturbing to watch. By the end of the film though, you garner a lot of sympathy and sadness for Dave Schultz(Mark Ruffalo), because he was just trying to raise a family and live a normal life. You also feel for Mark Schultz as he loses his brother, throws the 88' olympics because his hatred for Jon Dupont had grown to extremes, and even in the end he is still a product of America, switching from wrestling to MMA. Everything about this film is different and great, the setting/locations are all fascinating, the history is interesting, the electric dialogue and tense scenes make up for the lack of violence or action because this is a deconstructive crime drama where the crime doesn't happen till the end.. The only two disappointments I had with the film was that there was no clarification when it came to Dupont hiding out in his home in a police standoff for 3 days after he killed Dave Schultz, we only see him getting taken out by the swat team after they get him outside. And the other thing is that Mark Schultz has spoken out about a few scenes being fictional, but its Hollywood, everything is used for dramatic effect. Great film none the less. One reason I think this film is classic and rewatchable is because you can close your eyes the whole movie and the score will take you on a story itself... 8.5/10.