Americana notion of Regicide

Rating: 10/10 (20 May 2015)

True story. True experience. It is very hard to achieve this level of authenticity that still feels larger than life. Bennett Miller, director known for his perfectionism and slow deliverance, doesn't try to mask his motives. He is very clear about the story goals.The patricide. Killing a "father". Breaking off. It is the film of Fathers and Sons, for them and about them.
"People who don't have fathers tend to have two strong qualities. One, they tend to feel that anything is possible and the other is an unrelenting anxiety and insecurity", Miller pointed out in one of the post-release movie interviews. The film raises big questions that speak to all of us. We are all somebody's children and we all have to make our own lives despite of them. How hard it is to reconcile integrity with the need to earn a living? How hard (or necessary) is to break off from your family in order to find your true identity? Can you really escape the clutches of your heritage? What hides behind the incredulous world of the rich benefactors, the fathers of "the greatest nation in the world" and their protégés?
Deep-dive, subtext, allegorical aspects are there. The facts are there; wealth, class, entitlement. It is all there. But this film is more intelligent and subtle than its elements. It is not trying to point at what is obvious or solve the crime. It doesn't tell you what to think. Instead, it is looking at the roots of these people and it allows you to determine who these people really are without laying it to your lap. And it does so in a very quiet, painful way  From the very first scene in the film, introducing Dave and Mark, Olympic Wrestling Champion brother team, the wordless expression of their relationship, naturally intimate physicality of wrestling communicates the love between the brothers. Straight to the bone, austere, tough love. Dave Shultz, the older brother and a father figure, is played by Mark Ruffalo. His character brings warmth and humanity in the mostly inhumane lives of professional wrestlers. It is a hard task and Ruffalo's performance is restrained yet deep, depicting to the last atom the complexity of a unique brotherly love. He is, also, the black mirror for Dupont, the "patron" and a self-imposed father figure. By being himself, dedicated and caring coach and brother whom everyone looks up to, Dave is unwillingly sending the hurtful message to Dupont: this is what you will never be. Not with all your money and all your power. You cannot buy love, respect nor talent. Rough fact- easy to say, much harder to learn.
Channing Tatum plays Mark Shultz, introverted emotionally troubled wrestling prodigy.Portrayed as a big gorilla that speaks physical language fluently, yet verbally and emotionally is on a level of a 5-year old. Great performance,though exaggerated to the verge of a parody Wrestling is not supposed to feel "real" or "natural", I mean these men are treated as highly- trained cage animals and their struggles are incomprehensible to the most of the humans. They are not really expected to have weaknesses or breakdowns as the rest of us. Still, Tatum painted this character with many shades and sensibility of a broken child in need of a strong paternal presence. We never doubt his weak spot or his fragility. This is where Dupont finds him...or they find each other. In spite of his wealth and power status, Dupont suffers from the same deprivation, or depravity in his case. They are both driven by the same raw ambition to reach greatness at any cost. Vanesa Redgrave is brilliant in a role of Dupont's controlling aloof mother, an old-money heiress who drives the last nail in her son's fragile ego.
For some, the most surprising element in the film was the comedy star Steve Carell. Wtf, Steve Carrell starring in heavy drama?! Yes, all comedians have dark side, and yes, they can be really, really scary. After watching it, I can't imagine anyone but Carell in this role. His comedic sensibility, a serious committed talent and incredibly specific work found a place for Dupont's bizarre persona, and the right attitude. Even that big artificial nose and over-the-top prosthetic serve the performance legibly- an excuse to look down upon others, to distance himself even more from the "regular" people.
If you couldn't care less about the wrestling that makes majority scenes in the film (like I don't), or if you can't sympathize with the characters that hard and impenetrable, you will feel what they are feeling, and you will empathize with their struggle. Wrestling functions as a perfect metaphor. It is the most primal of sports, the one in which you bend another person to your will. Literally. The story of power and manipulation never gets old. Dave's complex relationship with his "surrogate father" Dupont communicates much more than misplaced egos of its protagonists. It portrays generations and generations of Duponts and Schultz'. I would dare to say even -one whole nation. No wonder it took years to edit and sleep on it in order for Miller to find the film's true voiceIt is a very quiet subtle voice that gets under your skin slowly and gradually it becomes impossible to ignore. A lot of surplus was cut off so the voice of the film becomes this meticulous and precise- a time well used.
The final result?
Haunting, insightful and intelligent film that will probably stay with you long after you finish watching it It is felt more that watched. Heavy stuff.