Foxcatcher follows brothers Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) and Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo) and their newly declared coach and sponsor, John du Pont (Steve Carell), on their journey to the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. The Schultz brothers are famed wrestlers known for their magnificent achievements during the 1984 Olympic Games. As they join team Foxcatcher and prepare to enter the next Games, they must face new hurdles and push themselves harder than ever before. The three wrestling savants must lean on each other if they hope to succeed in Seoul; but, will they lead each other to victory, or will they tear one another apart?
Dedication is the theme of the film from the opening moments. Mark is seen on the mats practicing his technique, ensuring that when he returns to the Olympics he finds success. In those opening moments, it becomes clear what Mark (and Dave’s) expectations are for themselves and exactly what audiences would see them working towards throughout the film. This ideal is one that resonates well with viewers and allows them to feel a strong and vibrant connection to Mark. This connection, for the greater part of the film, is what allowed audiences to remain engaged, as the story moved incredibly slow. Writers E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman created a script that was all about the story. They relied heavily on the story, rather than theatrics to guide the journey of Mark, Dave and John.
The trio’s journey to the 88’ Olympics is rocky, but it never seems to truly take off and makes the lack of “Hollywood” somewhat hindering. John du Pont is described by most of those who dealt with him in reality as eccentric, erratic and self-destructive. While these behaviors are depicted throughout the film, oftentimes those aspects of John were left up to the imagination. For the first time, maybe ever, I believe that a slight exaggeration of John’s reality would have painted a more clear picture of the character and allowed audiences to better appreciate the struggle of team Foxcatcher. Audiences always knew where the film was headed and each piece of the film was essential to the story, however, Frye and Futterman’s (along with director Bennett Miller) choice to keep the film simple made that journey somewhat troublesome for the viewers.
While the lack of theatrics was somewhat of a hindrance on the film, some aspects of the film have been referred to as disrespectful and untrue by Mark Schultz himself. He has said, on numerous occasions, that the somewhat taboo relationship between him and John is far from accurate and has referred to Bennett Miller as “scum” for portraying him the way he did. Hearing these words makes part of the film difficult to appreciate. As previously mentioned, a little exaggeration in Hollywood can sometimes be necessary to make a story more appealing, however, depicting a person in such a negative way, when it is far from the truth, is an unacceptable form of enhancing a story. Frye, Futterman and Miller’s decision to portray Mark in a negative light took away from the story and from the finished product.
Carell, Ruffalo and Tatum are renowned actors who often light up the big screen and bring unique characters to life. Their abilities to connect with audiences throughout all walks of life are what make each of the three such well-known names and allow audiences to appreciate not only their characters, but the films in which they are present. Casting director Jeanne McCarthy brought the three together here and they melded quite nicely. They fed off of one another and presented audiences with cohesive performances that brought these relatively quiet characters to life.
With beautifully acted roles, a story that contained some compelling aspects and an abrupt and somewhat cryptic ending, the film was less than adequate with much more downside than up. The script and the direction did not create an accessible film, or even a film that allowed audiences to appreciate the emotion of the characters or the story. The true story was fractured through the crew’s attempts to change Mark, and this, and the impeccably slow pacing, ultimately led to a disappointing product.
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