Monday, January 5, 2015

January 5: Foxcatcher (2014 -- Bennett Miller)


★★★★★

This film is a compelling drama that relies on its surprising acting.  In the film, du Pont heir, John, wants to sponsor and coach a wrestling team at his estate with the aim of entering and winning the Olympics. Toward that end, he first convinces Olympic gold medalist Mark Schultz to train at his estate, Foxcatcher, and he then recruits Mark’s brother, Dave Schultz, to train and coach there.

But Foxcatcher’s script and acting give unexpected nuance to this simple story.  One of the strongest roles here is Channing Tatum as Mark Schultz.  Under Bennett Miller’s direction, Tatum’s Mark is a dull, inarticulate, physically-imposing man who is a follower despite his athleticism.  As a competitor, he’s strong and quick, but he’s unable to connect with others or make friends.  He’s defined by an inferiority complex towards his older brother Dave throughout the film.  Tatum creates this character with small touches like a hulking stride and a slightly bent posture. And in this film of close-ups, when Miller’s camera lingers on Dave’s face, Tatum’s Dave has a blank, confused look as he tries to figure out how to respond in each situation.  This Dave is a man of arresting physical bearing but a weak, passive personality that calls to be led.

Foxcatcher follows Dave as he oscillates between two men who lead him.  His sharp, gregarious, family-oriented older brother Mark is one of these men.  A father himself and a coach, Mark also tries to take care of his younger brother, and though Dave can’t articulate how he feels, a strength of Tatum’s performance is that we can see that Dave is envious of his older brother’s success but that he can’t manage to accomplish the same on his own.  The early sparring scene between the two, a mixture of aggression and affection, defines their relationship better than any amount of exposition would.


Trying to strike out on his own, Dave falls under the leadership of a second man, Steve Carell’s John du Pont.  This odd millionaire is an uncertain, awkward man who is middle-aged and dumpy, but he’s deeply motivated by a desire for power and domination.  Never able to please his mother, du Pont uses the wealth available to him to buy power.  He loves guns and weaponry and subsidies local law enforcement so they practice at his estate.  He buys heavy military armaments as a hobby.  His wealth secures a deference that insulates him, but the aggression in wrestling also attracts him, so he starts a team on the estate and postures as their trainer.  Carell creates many of the most uncomfortable moments in Foxcatcher, as when his ungainly du Pont wins a match that is thrown or when he wrestles around on top of the handsome athletes his wealth has bought.  In one particularly uncomfortable scene, Dave clearly feels he has to let du Pont clamor on top of him in the middle of the night, a scene whose power comes as much from Tatum’s and Carell’s acting as from the situation.  And as with Dave, close-ups on du Pont create discomfort.  After Dave tells du Pont that money won’t convince Mark to come to Foxcatcher, the camera lingers on du Pont’s face as Carell’s eyes go blank and he keeps silent and immobile for several seconds, his nose in the air.  John du Pont expects his money to win the day for him, and he doesn’t know how to react to this information.

The characters and acting alone would make Foxcatcher a worthwhile film, but Miller brings important cinematic elements to bear, too.  Throughout, the script interweaves strands of patriotism, class, power, weakness and love, and Miller so deftly handles his images that every detail onscreen seems to speak to these themes, whether it’s painting of George Washington or horse trophies.  Miller also brings an independent filmmaker specificity the settings.  In the early part of the film, the school that Dave visits and his apartment have a great uniqueness to them as do, later, Mark’s home and du Pont’s.  And the cinematography makes this film compelling.  The close-ups put us uncomfortably into dialogs and actions, and the shallow focus compels us to look at a limited range of what’s happening onscreen.  Miller’s direction compliments the story, acting and settings here to make Foxcatcher even more intense.

Foxcatcher is a significant exploration of today’s America.  Though the story follows the relationship among three individuals, the concerns that run through their interactions run also animate our time, when our American competitive spirit is running up against increasing inequality and limited social mobility.


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