Foxcatcher (2014)

Content by Tony Macklin. Originally published on December 18, 2014 @ tonymacklin.net.

Foxcatcher is one of the bleakest visions ever about the American Dream in a mainstream movie.

It's a gruelling, disspiriting ordeal. Audiences may be reluctant to stew in 134 minutes of bile. But Foxcatcher is instructive and brave.

Based on an actual story, Foxcatcher grapples with what has happened to the American Dream. It's about wealth and waste, luxury and loss. It's about the chokehold money has on sports and society.

Foxcatcher is the story of brothers Mark (Channing Tatum) and Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo) and their relationship with multimillionaire John Eleuthere du Pont (Steve Carell), heir to a vast chemical fortune.

The Schultz brothers had both won gold medals in wrestling in the 1984 Olympics. But their Olympic achievements had not resulted in great economic awards. They both had to struggle. The older brother Dave had always been the smarter and more social of the two. He is married and has a family, while Mark lives alone.

Into Mark's barren life comes a phone call from a representative of John du Pont. Mark is invited to visit the estate of du Pont. There he meets the man who wants to "mentor" him and create a Foxcatcher Team of wrestlers to compete in the world championships and Olympics. Mark joins him on the estate, lives in a chalot, and participates in the Foxcatcher team.

Since Mark is gullible, he is an easy mark for the grandiose pronouncements of du Pont. John views himself as a leader, and wants to dominate. He says, "I'm an ornithologist, but more important, I am a patriot."

Dave asks Mark, "What does he [du Pont] want?"

Mark answers, "America, winning!"

Du Pont wants to recruit Dave, but as Mark tells him, "You can't buy Dave."

However, eventually Dave brings his family to the estate and joins John's team. It costs him more than he could imagine.

Foxcatcher focuses on the psychological conflict between Dave and the man who calls himself, "Golden Eagle." Mark struggles mightily with insecurity.

It comes down to a fateful, absurd conclusion.

Foxcatcher is a movie of elusive theme and character. It's ideal for actors willing to take risks.

It's difficult to like any of the characters except Dave, his wife (Sienna Miller), and children.

Steve Carell, as John du Pont, runs the gamut from pathos to near-despicability. Because of his demons, John is a man on a mission, and his mission is self-aggrandizement. His quest is somehow to transcend his dominant mother (Vanessa Redgrave). He yearns for his own rigid power.

Channing Tatum (Mark) captures the cave man quality of the younger brother. He's hulking and lumbering. He has a simple mind and a thick body. His brain is muscle.

Mark Ruffalo (Dave), effectively bulked up, is a chalice of decency. Dave has taken care of his brother all his life and tries to protect him. He's smart and popular.

Foxcatcher is a deadly tag-team match. John was tagged by his mother.

Bennett Miller, aided by a literate screenplay by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, directs with quiet aplomb. Foxcatcher, almost blessedly, is not one of those films of 2014 that gussies up every conversation with music. Miller often lets his characters talk with only natural sound in the background. The scrape of footfalls, the wheeze of sitting on a cushion, the tweet of birds.

Miller also is detail-oriented. A refrigerator has three cartoon decals on it - two on one side and another a distance away. Perhaps representing the three major characters.

Miller obviously wants to draw our attention to symbols of America - fluttering flags, a flag pin. And red, white, and blue dominate, although du Pont's training facilities are dominated by yellow.

In Foxcatcher, Dave Schultz represents the true athlete. But in 2014 that is being laid waste.

John du Pont, looking a little like Johnny Football making a money sign, is representative of the modern sports world. It's a society in which money controls sports.

The university from which I graduated - Villanova - sucked at the teat of the du Pont dynasty. They named their arena the John Eleuthere du Pont Pavilion (1986-97).

When John du Pont underwent scandal, they removed his name from the facility.

Foxcatcher ends with a compelling, withering image. It's a cage match. A crowd chants, "USA, USA."

Who wants purity in sports? Or society?

USA. USA.