Foxcatcher

I had bookmarked this flick after the glowing reviews and the Golden Globes. KC and I had planned to watch it on the flight to Mumbai but the audio was too low. I managed to catch it today.

The movie stars Steve Carrell (love this guy), Channing Tattum and Mark Ruffalo. It has been produced and directed by Bennett Miller and is based on a true story.


Channing plays Mark Schultz who is an Olympic wrestling champion. We get to know that his life is not hunky dory when he is shown giving a talk to school kids for money and eating ramen noodles alone at home. A phone call changes that. He is invited by John Du Pont played by Steve Carrell to join his wrestling team called 'Team Foxcatcher'. Du Pont is very wealthy and sole heir to the wealth. Mark is given a stipend and a luxurious accommodation. John and Mark become friends and share a son-father relationship. 

Mark has felt overshadowed by his brother Dave who is also a wrestling champion with a family. John invites Dave to join the team but he turns down the offer. One day, John slaps Mark and tells him he wants Dave to join at any price. I guess Dave is offered a lot of money and he starts coaching the team for Olympics. There are a lot of conflicts going on here and it's a little difficult to decipher because the dialogues convey little. You have to read between the lines and catch every expression.

- John and his mother don't share a good relationship. She thinks wrestling is 'low class'. 
- John and Mark become close but that pushes Mark away from Dave
- Dave is Mark's mentor and always concerned about his well being. He ensures that Mark is paid even when he quits Foxcatcher
- John is jealous of Mark and Dave's closeness.
- John is envious of the mentor ship skills of Dave. John wants to believe he can coach a wrestling team but he does not have the experience that Dave has. 

All this leads to the death of Dave who is shot at point blank range by John for no explicit reason. That's where the movie ends. In reality, John is put in prison where he dies. He was declared guilty of the crime on the basis of mental illness. 

The story is shocking but the treatment is Oscar-winning like. Meaning, it is slow, boring and makes you want to pull out your hair. 
But the actors are superb. So damn good. 
Worth a watch.