Foxcatcher

Every year, Hollywood is known for releasing inspirational sports dramas.  Foxcatcher is a rare tragic sports drama.  In a more conventional film, this would be the story of two brothers who are both former Olympic Gold Medal wrestlers that overcome life's difficulties with the aid of an eccentric millionaire.  But director Bennett Miller (Moneyball) doesn't want to tell that story.  The one he tells is much darker and complex.

The film is based on the true story of John E. du Pont, wealthy son of one of the richest family names in America.  In January 1996, John sought out and shot down Dave Schultz, a wrestler who had been working for him, and helping train a U.S. wrestling team for him.  The movie is not really a true crime story, as the actual murder does not occur until the last five minutes or so of the film.  Rather, it is more interested in what made John E. du Pont the man he was.  I recently watched a video on Youtube of the man giving a tour of his mansion for a news program, and even there in front of the cameras, he gives off a vibe that is somewhat off.  His manner of speaking is weird, with awkward pauses in between words.  And the way he carried himself suggests someone who was perhaps not fully confident about himself, despite his lavish lifestyle and respect he received from the local community for his efforts in helping out different causes.

The screenplay seems to suggest that John was a man who was constantly in the shadow of and seeking the respect of his aging mother, which he never received.  He has a desire to win as many trophies and medals that his mother had won over the years raising purebred racing horses.  The sport that John decided to get behind was Olympic Wrestling, and again his mother did not approve of his choice, as she viewed wrestling as a "low sport".  The fact that he felt that he was constantly in the shadow of his mother is perhaps the reason he felt drawn to Mark Schultz, brother of Dave, who despite being a Gold Medal Olympic Wrestler himself, was constantly being overlooked by others for his older brother.  Perhaps it was that similar feeling the two shared that led to their relationship, which in turn led to the tragic events in 1996.

In Foxcatcher, Steve Carell plays John du Pont, Channing Tatum plays Mark, and Mark Ruffalo is the doomed Dave Schultz.  All three performances are fantastic and worthy of Oscar recognition, although only two of them were actually recognized at the nominations last week. (Tatum got shut out.) Carell has the showiest role in the film, as he completely transforms himself into the awkward and strange du Pont.  Watching his performance, compared side by side to the actual person, and you really admire how much he throws himself into the role.  It never once comes across as if Carell is mimicking the man's way of speaking or his mannerisms, both of which were unusual and could have led to some unintentional self parody if a lesser actor were playing the role.  He embodies the role, and we soon forget that we are watching Steve Carell under some effective make up that does a great job of making him look like the man during the years the film covers.  We are simply watching an engaging performance of a fascinatingly odd man.

As the two brothers, Tatum and Ruffalo create a relationship that was once close, but has become strained over the years.  As the film opens, Tatum's Mark seems to be going nowhere, and his win at the 1984 Summer Olympics seems to have led only to stiff motivational speeches given to uninterested elementary school children.  He hopes to compete in the upcoming 88 games (as does his brother), and that's when he gets the call from du Pont.  John offers Mark $25,000 if he will relocate to his home grounds, and train a US wrestling team at the facility he has at his home.  He initially wants Dave to train the team as well, but he has to back out, as he doesn't want to uproot his family and move.  Mark takes the job, and initially leads the team to success, and even strikes up an odd relationship with du Pont.  But when a point comes when Mark begins to lose focus, John has no choice but to call in Dave to coach the team as well, and that's when things begin to take a turn for the worse for all three men.

Those of us with advance knowledge of the story walking in can watch the pieces fall into place, and how they ultimately build to the tragic conclusion.  For those unfamiliar, they may mistake the film for being inspirational at first, but will quickly catch on that things are not going to end well.  Du Pont is portrayed as a man who was prone to irrational behavior, such as a scene where he fires a gun off within the gym where the wrestling team is training, just so he can get their attention and announce they only have a little over a year left to prepare for the 88 Olympics.  We learn that John was frequently isolated most of his life, and that the only friend he had growing up was a kid who was being paid by his mother to play with him.  He does not know how to interact socially with those around him.  We get the sense that he views the wrestlers the same way his mother (played here by Vanessa Redgrave) views her prize horses, and that he only wants to bask in the reflected gory and accomplishments of Mark and the team.

There is a danger and a menace lurking throughout Foxcatcher.  Yes, a lot of this comes from Carell's just "off" performance, but the movie also creates a sense of dread with its setting.  The fog-drenched grounds at dawn, the beautiful but somewhat cold interior of the du Pont mansion home, the way that Mark slowly falls apart during the course of the film to the point that he has a total break down and binge in a hotel room after a particularly heavy competition loss...All of it builds a certain uneasy feeling.  We are watching the lives of these three men coming together, and even though we know that nothing good can come of it, we also know that there is obviously nothing we can do.  Maybe there was nothing that could have been done back when these events were happening.  Was there someone on the outside who perhaps noticed that something was not right?  The movie does not say, but I had to wonder if anyone saw the signs of tragedy coming.

This is ultimately a story of the American Dream gone wrong, and it's a powerful one at that.  The movie is quiet, unassuming and intentionally leisurely paced, which makes the bloody and tragic end to the story all the more shocking, even if we know it was coming.  Foxcatcher haunts, mesmerizes and is almost guaranteed to stay with you long after it is over.

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