Review: Foxcatcher

 

Infrequent moments of greatness left me wanting more from ‘Foxcatcher.’ (Sony Pictures Classics/aceshowbiz.com)

When the audience knows exactly how a story will unfold, it’s a difficult process for the filmmakers. As was the case with Foxcatcher, the true story of rich, psychotic John E. du Point who trained USA wrestling at his estate, only to later commit murder in cold blood. It’s a disturbing story to be sure, and with the audience already knowing each piece of the puzzle, the film had to have stirring performances as well as the ability to relive the events in a way as surprising as can be.

My hopes of this film being a favorite of the year were diminished after about 45 minutes of running time, and only went down from there. That’s not to say it was a bad movie at all, but the slow nature of every scene, and the feeling that the movie just dragged on for long periods, left me mildly disappointed given my expectations. There were some exceptions, naturally, that resulted in shocking and terrific pieces of the movie. But those moments were too few and far between.

The acting was good, across the board. The supporting case was fine, but I’m speaking of the three leads: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo. I’m a huge Carell fan, and to see him take on a loaded drama, shows just how far he’s come in his acting career. With all of the Best Actor buzz surrounding him, I was somewhat shocked at how lukewarm I considered his performance to be. Aesthetically, with the hair, nose, teeth, walking style, and his manner of speaking, it was terrific. But it was almost as if his character didn’t have a lot to say. Somewhat…boring, I guess. Tatum was the actor who at times, shined brightest, in my eyes. Both he and Ruffalo had such memorable moments together in this film, but like the story’s highlights – these moments were far too infrequent.

I’ll look at Foxcatcher as perhaps a missed opportunity to do something great with such a loaded story. There was good acting, moments of greatness and shock, but overall a sense of waiting. It was waiting for the movie to completely come together and deliver something extraordinary. It never happened. With Oscar buzz aside, it’s still something I enjoyed, but not nearly as much as I thought I would.

 

FOXCATCHER:   (out of 4)