An immensely creepy and wonderfully acted slow-burn

Rating: 8/10 (14 June 2015)

One of the most impressively eerie films of recent times, Foxcatcher is another quality film to be directed by Bennett Miller that may well just be the film that officially leads him to be called the master of the mood piece after the quality Philip Seymour Hoffman starring Capote and the most interesting movie ever filmed about stats Moneyball came before this new slice of true story filmmaking.
The less known about Foxcatcher the better and its clear Bennett wanted his 2 hour plus feature to be an exercise in the slow build and under the skin creepiness that so many films strive for yet fail to reach. Bennett nails the films 80's set production design and glum mood and upcoming horror filmmakers could strangely take tips from the way Bennett constructs many of his scenes, never has a late night wrestle or an awkward documentarian conversation been so utterly off putting. Foxcatcher's tone is flawless and tone perfectly suited yet it's well designed coldness is also its biggest weakness as we sadly never feel overly affiliated with the movies main troupe of actors, despite the work of Steve Carell, Channing Tatum (making up for Magic Mike) and Mark Ruffalo who together produce a stunning 3 pronged acting attack.
Delivering career best turns, Carell and Tatum deserve all the plaudits they received for there on song turns. Carell is quietly menacing and near unrecognisable as real life figure John du Pont, a billionaire, wrestling loving mummy's boy that has more deep seeded issues than you'd care to imagine and his chemistry with Tatum's slow yet dedicated Olympian wrestler Mark Shultz produces many of the films strongest scenes. John and Mark's friendship and comradery take this tale to many dark yet fascinating places and when accompanied by Ruffalo's assured turn as Mark's older brother David, Foxcatcher truly soars to some great dramatic heights and the oft unappealing sport of wrestling becomes a thoroughly thrilling back drop to all manner of human conditions, laid out bare on the mats these men compete on.
Foxcatcher will not be for everyone and it's by no means a flawless film, yet it's a refreshingly unique and uncompromising poetically licensed telling of a seriously troubling true life tale. With 3 standout acting turns, particularly from the here starkly unfunny Steve Carell and the oft misused Channing Tatum, Foxcatcher is another quality film by Miller that would attest to him being one of the finest dramatic directors working today.
4 late night wrestles out of 5