Foxcatcher – Review

Given the somewhat deranged mentality of the real John du Pont, it’s very curious that Bennett Miller’s recounting of his misguided attempt to coach the US wrestling team would focus on precisely that, and not on du Pont himself – depicted here by a top-of-his-game Carell.

A cold and calculating drama perfectly in step with Miller’s body of work, Foxcatcher is most clearly an actor’s piece, eschewing the more natural path of fixating on Carell’s du Pont more in favour of the wrestler’s stories – specifically Tatum and Ruffalo as the Schultz brothers, whose lives du Pont forever affected.

The upside of this is that it delivers a fine and rousing drama, perfectly paced and boasting a cast finely tuned into Miller’s vision, a stark exploration of characters as barren as the wintery landscape they inhabit. A powerful and very dark drama, it’s a hint of unexplored potential for Carell.

Catch Van Connor’s reviews in our Movies section and live on Slam Dunk Cinema every Saturday at 12PM on Sheffield Live! 93.2FM or on the podcast via iTunes.

In it
Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo
Behind it
Bennett Miller