Foxcatcher - B

Rated R, 130 minutes
Wes's Grade: B

Excellent performances highlight the slow-moving character study "Foxcatcher"

Steve Carell as John Du Pont

"Foxcatcher" is not an emotional powerhouse of a movie on a broad canvas. Instead, it's an intimate character study in slowburn mode. On that note, it may not be for everyone: slow-moving, thoughful and very deliberate, yet featuring an excellent, Oscar-worthy turn from an actor better known for his comedic skills. The movie the tragic story of Olympic Gold Medal-winning wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum), who sees a way out from the shadow of his more celebrated wrestling brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo) and a life of poverty when he is summoned by eccentric multi-millionaire John du Pont (Steve Carell) to move onto his large estate known as Foxcatcher and train for the 1988 Seoul Olympics as part of his Foxcatcher team. When Dave eventually joins them to help the Foxcatcher team, it begins an unlikely alliance that leads to tragic circumstances. Directed and written by Oscar-nominee Bennett Miller, who helmed "Capote" and "Moneyball" to acclaim, the absorbing "Foxcatcher" is a superb, small-scale yet complex portrait of people struggling to connect in their own way. Like Miller's aformentioned films, this is a true story, though a very sad one whose circumstances often cast a pall on the film (Du Pont killed Dave Schultz under a load of mystery), though it doesn't detract from the compelling characters. The dark, quiet tone is not a huge draw, though the acting is; the chief reason to see the film is Carell in a stellar, much-talked about performance under a load of makeup as the awkwardly creepy Du Pont, whose loneliness seemed to be a driving force behind his desire to connect with athletes in a sport he knew nothing about. He provides the film with its most intriguing, even darkly humorous moments, making "Foxcatcher" a worthwhile movie; it's a fascinating, disturbing and against-type turn from Carell whose is far different here than his typically zany comic roles and one that should net him a deserved Oscar nomination. Both Ruffalo and Tatum are also strong as the brothers, and their chemistry is almost as memorable as Carell; Miller elicits believable performances from the pair, especially from Tatum in a role far deeper than he is accustomed to playing, relying on a lot of unspoken body language to communicate their feelings. Miller is a skilled director, though there are many angles he curiously chooses not to explore in "Foxcatcher," primarily as to what would drive Du Pont to murder Dave Schultz in the first place - was it mental illness, drugs, loneliness, jealousy, etc? That is mostly left a mystery, and instead Miller makes it a pensive, muted character study; his minimal use of a musical score allows focus on the characters though occasionally it's so awkwardly quiet you can hear a pin drop. "Foxcatcher" is slightly overlong and a little too somber, but is otherwise a thoughtful and compelling look at what drives us to connect with other people.