Director: Bennett Miller
Year Released: 2014
Rating: 2.0
Millionaire wrestling enthusiast John du Pont (Steve Carell, very out of character) recruits wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) to his estate near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to be a member of his Foxcatcher Team ... with the hopes Mark's even more skilled brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo) would join (though Dave initially refuses, du Pont's money becomes too hard to resist). Miller's approach to the material has caused some controversy - many facts have been omitted (du Pont's mental disorders are never explicitly discussed) and it does seem to reduce the (disturbed) du Pont figure into a closet case with Mother Issues (a dreaded 'killer queer' figure), which does a disservice to a more intricate figure (plus, it flubs the opportunity to make a wider statement about American political power). Still, troubling narrative issues aside, the performances by the three leads are outstanding, with Carell being a standout as the withdrawn eccentric: it may be Oscar Bait, but it is Carell stepping well outside his comfort zone and succeeding.
