Wonderfully tense and subtle drama

Rating: 9/10 (6 May 2015)

Bennett Miller is really becoming a director who seems to very carefully choose his projects. After about ten years, Foxcatcher is only his third film after Capote and Moneyball, but with that kind of track record it's hard to complain.
Like many films before it, Foxcatcher is "based on a true story," the advantage for me being I had never heard of this tragedy. All I knew was it was about wrestling and some millionaire. Needless to say, knowing next to nothing about Foxcatcher is a one-way ticket to dramatic impact.
The film opens with a dissonant cello solo which segues into a piano solo accompanied by archival footage from what I assume is the Du Pont family. It all seems innocent enough, but the music lends the footage a melancholy and sinister feel. We suddenly cut to Mark Schultz who's training. We're also quickly introduced to his brother Dave, who Mark considers to be better than him. Even in their first scene we get a grasp of the tension between them, at least from Mark's perspective. He wants to surpass Dave and feels frustrated, but can't express these feelings as Dave's the very image of kindness and support. Out of nowhere, Mark receives a call by an associate of the Du Pont family, asking if he's willing to travel to their estate and be trained by John E. du Pont. Mark agrees and has a face to face with John who inspires him with talk of America. Mark agrees to be trained for the Olympics in Seoul '88. For Mark, this is obviously the chance to step out of his brother's shadow. John asks if Dave can also be persuaded, but Dave refuses, citing parental responsibilities. And so begins the strange relationship between Mark and John, a relationship that would end bloody to the shock of everyone involved.
It's interesting that Foxcatcher was denied a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars, but did receive nominations for directing, screenplay and so on. Obviously, despite being released way back in August, something stuck with voters, and I do think it's the direction. Miller's direction lends every scene a very palpable sense of dread and inevitability, this despite the relative lack of action. So much is told visually. Miller knows how to let the image do the talking, which fits the story as Mark and John are people who's lines belies their true feelings and anxieties. Especially strong is the suggestion of how John's family history keeps haunting him. Those people from the opening footage may be long gone, but their overbearing values live on, much to John's frustration.
The script too is genius, although you wouldn't notice it at first glance. These days, it's the creative writing à la Sorkin that is praised. Foxcatcher reverses this trend: its use of language is simplified on purpose to suggest, among other things, that John and Mark actually have nothing in common and that John is completely incapable of providing emotional support. Their first talk is almost comical. On the surface, it seems like Mark and John have 'found each other,' but the explicitly simple language actually hints at precisely the opposite.
Needless to say, everything's perfect in terms of acting. The casting is pitch perfect. Channing Tatum is provided with a role that plays to his strength, suggesting an anger that threatens to erupt at any moment. Ruffalo is seemingly becoming the next Ed Harris, the ultimate supporting actor. He's very persuasive as what is basically the ultimate nice guy. He's particularly impressive during the scene where, for a documentary, he's asked to look into the camera and say some very specific, positive things about John. But the true surprise is obviously funnyman Steve Carell who plays John very calmly, but is all the while hinting at the tragedy and malice underlying his actions, his desperate attempts to gain his mother's approval and so on.
But, in the end, it's Miller's tense and tender direction that will stay with you. He emphasizes the beautiful landscape, the rolling hills and so on, but he also constantly suggests impending tragedy while never resorting to typically thriller-esque camera angles (killer cams) and so on. He uses very little to say so much. Simply through cinematography we start to understand John more and more through, his relationship with his mother, the way he looks at the countless trophies that adorn the walls of the estate, his desperate attempts to succeed in the eyes of others. Foxcatcher feels like the perfect drama, where every scene serves a purpose and it all seems to perfectly lead towards an inevitable ending. Not only that, but Miller's direction puts a lot of faith in the audience which is always a plus. Never does the film resort to neatly tying up any psychological loose ends à la Psycho. It's easily one of the best films of 2014.