Cast: I say this every time I see him in something but I never expected to like Channing Tatum's work as much as I do right now. For as funny as he is in the Jump Street movies, he is so intense here. The character he is playing isn't a very expressive guy so Tatum has to make a character out of a guy who has perpetual "dumb jock" face. Steve Carrell is rightly getting the majority of the praise in this. He plays his part always with just a hint of malice. The best way I can describe it is that he had a very comedic performance that you are never comfortable laughing at (And, trust me, there is almost no laughing when you watch this). Mark Ruffalo is Tatum's brother and is sort of the yin to his yang. Tatum is stoic and intense. Ruffalo is at ease, but not indifferent.
Plot: If you don't know the story behind the movie, then I would read no further, because I have no qualms discussing 25 year old events. The follows the story of the Schultz brothers, Mark and Dave, played by Tatum and Ruffalo respectively. They are Olympic wrestlers who get tied to the Foxcatcher training facility, run by eccentrice millionaire John E. du Pont (Carrell). Du Pont becomes more and more controlling over time and things don't end well to say the least. This is far more of a character study than anything plot driven.
Elephant in the Room: So, this is a sports movie? No. There's a couple matches in there and I do know a little more about wrestling than I did before. None of this is the focus though. I want to make this very clear, because there was at least one guy in the theater when I saw it who was not prepared for this movie and let out a surprised "What the hell!?" toward the end. This is not a sports movie by almost any measure.
To Sum Things Up:
Foxcatcher is a vehicle for performances first. I'd argue that it's even more engaging knowing what happens, but there's still value in the surprise (if you'd call it that). This is a bit of an oppressive film in terms of the tone. Clocking in around two and a half hours, it's like to the point of wondering how hard the editor tried, but it was still worth while.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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