Foxcatcher was released in the United States in November last year, but was released in the UK last week, and only recently has there been some furor regarding the film's faithfulness to the real-life story upon which it was based. The short version: it's not very faithful, and takes many creative liberties in spinning its complex, nasty yarn. But, unlike others, I really don't care. Yes, people involved are still around today, and yes, a murder was committed, so an argument can be made that the film has a duty not to exploit the more sensationalist elements of the story out of respect for the victim's family. Yet if Foxcatcher didn't have the freedom to move around its story and, in many places, devise relationships and characters almost out of thin air it wouldn't be anywhere near as powerful, for the film's depiction of obsession, jealousy, and intense emotional rigour is one of the best in years.
The story begins back in the 1980s, where billionaire philanthropist John E. du Pont - heir to the Du Pont family fortune - has created a facility at his Foxcatcher Farm where Olympic-standard wrestlers can train. More specifically, he has taken an interest in two brothers, Mark and Dave Schultz, who have just won gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Yet over the years the relationship sours between Du Pont and the brothers, as he develops a (perhaps homosexual) obsession with Mark, driving him too hard to succeed and growing jealous of the close bond between him and Dave.
This is, in many ways, an actor's film. Du Pont, Mark, and Dave are played by Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo respectively, and all three are magnificent. A lot has been made of Carell's prosthetics, sporting a nose that would make Nicole Kidman blush, and while the physical change is impressive it wouldn't work without the unsettling yet vulnerable performance he gives. Du Pont is an idealist who sees himself as someone who will save his country through all-American sporting accomplishment, but mostly comes off as lip-smackingly psychotic - particularly when he forces Mark to wrestle him, and enjoys the physical contact a bit too much. It also seems inevitable that the story ends with a murder, but even in his most chilling moments Carell channels an inner sadness, fostered by years of loneliness and parental pressure, that never lets us judge him too harshly. It's really quite something.
Mark Ruffalo is also enormously charismatic as Dave, the softly-spoken, dignified older brother with a sensible head on his shoulders. But for my money it's Channing Tatum who impresses the most. He delivers an uncomfortably physical performance, his chin jutted out like a bullish Jay Leno, and you can almost feel his sweat and spit coming out of the screen during the (very effective) wrestling sequences. In fact, there's a brilliant scene where, having suffered a major defeat in the qualifiers for a championship, he goes into a self-destructive rage and destroys his hotel room before gorging on junk food. His brothers discovers him and has him pedal furiously on an exercise bike so he can match the required weight for the next round. Tatum communicates so much through clenched fists and a permanently-furrowed brow - it's incredible to think that, eight years ago, he was just the kid from the Step Up films.
Of course, the film is more than the sum of its performances. Bennett Miller does a great job of making you feel uncomfortable yet engaged throughout the entire experience, especially the scenes between Du Pont and his mother (a stony Vanessa Redgrave). It's like The Office by way of One Hour Photo. Although it should be said that as much as I liked Foxcatcher, I don't think I'd want to see it again. It's both deadly serious and disturbing, which is fine, but it ought to be entered into with the right mindset, because I think it can come off as quite cold. Miller is a very professional director, and he gives the picture a hard edge, perhaps to widen the scope of his enquiry to analyse America itself and the pressure society places upon athletes to succeed - which works, but can feel clinical. I mean, I'm nitpicking - it's still claustrophobic, moving, and nothing less than a must-see. And when the films are this good, who cares if the stories aren't real?
★★★★½
★★★★½
