A highlight in true to life sports drama

Rating: 8/10 (13 January 2015)

(78%) A film that on the surface is a simple sports drama about a domineering coach and a wrestler, but underneath it's a jet-black, regretful, true life tale that begs for attention. I'm almost certain this is the first Steve Carell movie I've paid money to see, which begs the question, what the hell has he been doing all this time? Because he is brilliant here as the massively odd billionaire who just wants his mother to be proud of him, and he will do anything to gain her approval, even if he can't really actually achieve greatness due to his limited talent. The attention to detail given to each character is a shining example of how to add layers without the need of telling everyone's life story. And despite this undoubtedly being a touch too baggy of pace at a couple of instances, it's still richly constructed, expertly told, and at times hugely griping picture with steller performances from everyone involved.