Chillingly taut

Rating: 7/10 (31 January 2015)

Foxcather is a slow-burning character driven biopic which may not be to everyone's taste. Audience craving for fast based overly dramatized popcorn flicks will find it extremely boring and will fail to grasp the chilling experience. I feel the slow pacing of Foxcather was necessary to build the cold atmosphere needed for the psychological study the movie does of its characters. The trump card here is of course the acting. With surprisingly masterclass performances from Steve Carell, Chaning Tatum and Mark Ruffalo, it makes you feel every emotion and action of its characters.
Based on true events, Foxcather is directly written to screen by Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye. Mark Schultz (Chaning Tatum) is a American wrestler who had won an Olympic Gold at LA 1984 yet he doesn't earn much. We see that is house is small and simple. Mark is mentored and trained by his older brother David Schultz (Mark Ruffalo) who has been taking care of him since his childhood after their parents split up. David also was a gold medalist at 1984 Olympics; he is married and loves his family a lot. Mark on the other hand has a feeling he is living in shadow of his brother. Things take a turn when Mark gets an offer from a billionaire and wrestling enthusiast John E. du Pont (Steve Carell). John seems to have family issues, with his mother who is obsessed more with her horses rather than appreciate his son's achievement and treating wrestling as low sport. Mark starts training at du Pont's high facility 'Foxcather Farm' moving away from his brother who is unwilling to move his family. The movie then touches how this affects the characters and relations. That's basically the plot with a strong character development which is sorely missing in movies nowadays.
Foxcather is not an eventful film with dramatic twists every now and then. It is a study of characters and their psychology. The main reason it is effective is the acting. Steve Carell's transformation into a sociopath from his routine comedy-flicks is shocking. I had to remind myself that he is the same comedy star. Same applies to Chaning Tatum whose performance has sadly not got much recognition at the awards. Also not to forget Mark Ruffalo who now really looked like Hulk-wrestler with his body. Director Bennet Miller with help of cinematographer Greig Fraser provide a absorbingly sad and chilling atmosphere. Adding to it is Rob Simonsen's haunting background score. Sometimes the silences and the background score convey more of the story than the actual dialogues in some of the long taut shot. But still, I feel at times Foxcather drags a bit too much in parts, the characters simply pause a lot even during regular dialogues. If the film was about 10-15 minutes short I think it would have been a lot more effective.
Overall Foxcather is a deep character study and a psychological drama. The fact that it is based on true events makes it even more chilling. The slow pacing may put off many, but I thoroughly enjoyed the engrossing screenplay and memorable performances.
RATING: [3.5/5]