Foxcatcher
2/4
Starring: Channing Tatum, Steve Carrell, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave, Sienna Miller
Rated R for Some Drug Use and Brief Violence
"Foxcatcher" is based on a true story, but even after seeing the movie, I wouldn't be able to tell you what happened or why. That's because the film is 10% substance and 90% subtext. Little of what happens is very clear, and the majority of the time the characters talk, their dialogue is just dances around what they mean to say.
Mark Schultz (Tatum) has already won an Olympic gold medal for wrestling, and is training for a second. His brother Dave (Ruffalo), also an Olympic wrestler with a gold medal to his name, trains him. One day, Mark gets a call from someone speaking on behalf of Jon du Pont (Carrell), who wants him to lead a team of wrestlers to victory at the next Olympics. Jon wants both Mark and Dave to move to his estate and coach the team, but Dave is unwilling to uproot his family. Mark sees this as a great professional opportunity and a chance to become his own man, so he accepts Jon's offer. The two grow close, but eventually their relationship sours to the point of violence.
I have nothing against movies that demand audience thought. In fact, I enjoy them much more than brain-dead flicks. Unfortunately, "Foxcatcher" crosses the line between intellectually demanding and an obtuse mess. Subtext only works if your plot and characters are strong enough that the audience can understand what is going on underneath what is (or is not) being said. That doesn't happen here.
The performances are adequate, but the hard work of Channing Tatum, Steve Carrell and Mark Ruffalo is dealt a severe blow by the incomplete script and bad direction. Channing Tatum doesn't always seem to fit in with his character, particularly at the beginning. Whether it's the script or the direction or simply being miscast, I'm not sure, but this isn't Tatum's strongest work. Steve Carrell shows that he has dramatic acting chops, but the script doesn't give him anything to work with. Jon is a creep whose interest in wrestling (specifically Mark) has homosexual undertones that are hard to miss, but for the most part his lines consist of verbal diarrhea. Mark Ruffalo gets the worst treatment. With his high-pitched voice and constant "Mommy-ing" of Mark (their relationship, as played here, is almost as creepy as the one between Jon and Mark) and over-the-top body language, Dave comes across as cartoonish.
I haven't seen "Capote" or "Moneyball," the two previous films of Bennett Miller (although I do own them), so I don't know if this is Miller's style or just an unfortunate accident, but the result is a movie that just doesn't make a lot of sense. There are scenes that work, but they're short and almost universally ignored. Subplots (like the drug use) are introduced then ignored.
Sony Pictures Classics hasn't done a good job of promoting "Foxcatcher," which annoyed me, but it's obvious why: it's just not very good.
Starring: Channing Tatum, Steve Carrell, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave, Sienna Miller
Rated R for Some Drug Use and Brief Violence
"Foxcatcher" is based on a true story, but even after seeing the movie, I wouldn't be able to tell you what happened or why. That's because the film is 10% substance and 90% subtext. Little of what happens is very clear, and the majority of the time the characters talk, their dialogue is just dances around what they mean to say.
Mark Schultz (Tatum) has already won an Olympic gold medal for wrestling, and is training for a second. His brother Dave (Ruffalo), also an Olympic wrestler with a gold medal to his name, trains him. One day, Mark gets a call from someone speaking on behalf of Jon du Pont (Carrell), who wants him to lead a team of wrestlers to victory at the next Olympics. Jon wants both Mark and Dave to move to his estate and coach the team, but Dave is unwilling to uproot his family. Mark sees this as a great professional opportunity and a chance to become his own man, so he accepts Jon's offer. The two grow close, but eventually their relationship sours to the point of violence.
I have nothing against movies that demand audience thought. In fact, I enjoy them much more than brain-dead flicks. Unfortunately, "Foxcatcher" crosses the line between intellectually demanding and an obtuse mess. Subtext only works if your plot and characters are strong enough that the audience can understand what is going on underneath what is (or is not) being said. That doesn't happen here.
The performances are adequate, but the hard work of Channing Tatum, Steve Carrell and Mark Ruffalo is dealt a severe blow by the incomplete script and bad direction. Channing Tatum doesn't always seem to fit in with his character, particularly at the beginning. Whether it's the script or the direction or simply being miscast, I'm not sure, but this isn't Tatum's strongest work. Steve Carrell shows that he has dramatic acting chops, but the script doesn't give him anything to work with. Jon is a creep whose interest in wrestling (specifically Mark) has homosexual undertones that are hard to miss, but for the most part his lines consist of verbal diarrhea. Mark Ruffalo gets the worst treatment. With his high-pitched voice and constant "Mommy-ing" of Mark (their relationship, as played here, is almost as creepy as the one between Jon and Mark) and over-the-top body language, Dave comes across as cartoonish.
I haven't seen "Capote" or "Moneyball," the two previous films of Bennett Miller (although I do own them), so I don't know if this is Miller's style or just an unfortunate accident, but the result is a movie that just doesn't make a lot of sense. There are scenes that work, but they're short and almost universally ignored. Subplots (like the drug use) are introduced then ignored.
Sony Pictures Classics hasn't done a good job of promoting "Foxcatcher," which annoyed me, but it's obvious why: it's just not very good.
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