Chilling tale with remarkable performance from an unrecognizable Steve Carell.

Rating: 8/10 (15 January 2015)

Based on the true story of multi-millionaire John du Bont, part of what was once America's richest family, Foxcatcher is a dark brooding eight-star drama with three central ten-star performances.
Desperate to prove himself as a man of ability and power, John du Pont (Steve Carell) uses the family money to help an ignored Olympic wrestling champion, Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum), realize his potential without financial constraints. Du Pont establishes the Foxcatcher training facilities in the hope of ensuring Schultz, his brother, David (Mark Ruffalo), also an Olympic champion, and the American wrestling team strike gold again at the Seoul Olympics. But du Pont is not simply a magnanimous benefactor but a damaged, lonely and quietly violent man who is desperate to buy the love and approval of his condescending mother, Jean (Vanessa Redgrave), his wrestlers or any substitute he can pay off.
The obvious and overused comment is that Steve Carell is physically unrecognizable here. Many's the viewer who has sat through much (or all) of Foxcatcher, blissfully unaware that it is the star of simplistic comedies like 40 Year Old Virgin and Evan Almighty who is unnerving them from the big screen. But that has little to do with him; give those accolades to the make up department. What really matters is that Carell is unrecognizable because he gives one heck of a performance! Talk about chameleon-like ability! This is Carell as you could never have conceived him.
It would have been incredibly easy to portray du Pont as an outright monster, raging and throwing his weight around, but Carell owns the screen with a performance that is quietly chilling. There is a distinct lack of facial movement or expression, but the pauses, the silences In those eyes we see a man who is capable of great cruelty and damage in his quest for power and pseudo love.
Carell is the obvious star turn in Foxcatcher and the absolute about turn from his standard fare is nothing short of astounding, but both Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo are on fire here. With Ruffalo, it is solid support, gravitas and a powerful gentleness as the old brother looking out for his sibling as well as his family. Tatum is also something of a revelation as the wrestler of few words but much brooding. With a CV packed with the dreary, dumb and dire (White House Down, This is The End etc.) Tatum has a track record of convincing heartthrob beefcake, but at last he gives us a glimpse of the potential ahead.
But performances alone don't make a great film and Foxcatcher falls short of excellence due to director Bennett Miller's (Capote, Moneyball) apparent reluctance to commit. There is a great deal of ambiguity about Foxcatcher and that doesn't serve to intrigue but to frustrate. Du Pont's sexuality is implied but not made clear and there is suggestion of a sexual relationship and abuse, but Miller seems content to make vague references without ever committing.
Beyond that, Foxcatcher is a cold film. The aloofness and the suggestion of impending violence keeps us permanently on edge, and that is a great strength of the film, but there needs to be more to draw us inside du Pont's world. As it is, but for his final act, I was left wondering quite why Mark was so upset by du Pont's behavior. Yes he was a strange man, but strange doesn't explain Mark's reaction and emotional turmoil. We needed to see more actuality and not only implication.
A great film leaves the viewer wanting more. With Foxcatcher, Miller has given enough to intrigue but leaves us wanting enough to be satisfied.
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