Foxcatcher (2014)

[K1stpierre]

Discuss

[4815162342]

It was a good film, but also an uncomfortable sit since it was very cold and ominous throughout with Carell's lizard person creeping on everything.

 

Carell was definitely the best. Tatum was good, but he basically disappears in the final act, and Ruffalo while good is playing kind of that Ruffalo character so not a big stretch for him.

[acsc1312]

It was a good film, but also an uncomfortable sit since it was very cold and ominous throughout with Carell's lizard person creeping on everything.

 

Carell was definitely the best. Tatum was good, but he basically disappears in the final act, and Ruffalo while good is playing kind of that Ruffalo character so not a big stretch for him.

 

Pretty much my thoughts. It was very uncomfortable with barely any sound other than dialogue for most of the movie, which was its point. Overall though, it was a good film, just missing a little something to raise it to great. Carell deserves all the praise he's getting, but I don't necessarily fall into the Ruffalo love wagon as much as I'd thought I would.

 

B+

[CoolioD1]

Ruffalo gave my favorite performance in the film and it was one of the best of the year! oh well. I thought this was very good, but not one of the year's best upon first watch, but the ambition to take it above a simple true-crime story like it could have been has won me over I think. There's a lot in here about how we accommodate the rich, etc, but also I think it's one of the best studies of masculinity since Raging Bull.

[acsc1312]

I was actually thinking about it last night how it'll probably move up in the next few months or so and upon a repeat viewing, as I have been thinking about it more than most other films I've seen this year. It was just so bleak and awkward at times that it takes you by surprise at first. 

[darkelf]

My God, that scene where Carrell is demonstrating some 'basics' in front of his mother is so unbearable and sad at the same time. But yeah, it's very competent like the rest of Miller's work and features some great performances but there is something, and I can't pinpoint exactly what, that makes me unable to love this movie. But I'm really glad this exists, it's a very unique film that doesn't go into any biopic cliches and that isn't afraid to go into the uncomfortable at all and for that I applaud this film.

 

8/10

 

Oh, who else thought that "Eagle, Golden Eagle" is something that Michael Scott would say?

[CJohn]

Fantastic movie. The silence made it very uncomfortable to watch (and to me it was even worse because I was alone in the theater), and Carell as du Pont was phenomenal. They try to give a reason for what happens in the end, but there really isn't one. He was just an insane man. I also loved Rufallo (the interview scene was magnificent), and Tatum was also good.

[Ezen Baklattan]

I wasn't a big fan to be honest. It does grapple onto sone really good themes on the dark side of wealth and masculinity, and it's quite well made and atmospheric, but I feel like the film kind of spins its wheels for a while and never quite grasps what it's going for. This is kind of ironic because the darkness of the setting is tied to its themes in a fairly in your face way that it becomes somewhat irritating after a while. All three performances are great, but I never honestly believed that there was a whole lot to these characters beyond how they respond to their world. I understand what it was going for, but to be honest, it didn't work for me.

[Jake Gittes]

Yeah I just don't get this one. It's like Miller decided to become a capital-A Artiste and his idea of making a deep movie is making one that's as aggressively moody and serious as it could possibly be. Carell and Tatum's performances effectively hit their respective notes until you realize each of them only has a single note to hit. Ruffalo fares better because he isn't asked to suppress his natural charisma, but that only makes him the only watchable person in the whole damn movie. 

[AniNate]

I agree that the movie never seems to be sure what its point is. You're just kind of waiting for something to happen much of the time and when it does it feels like an afterthought. If Miller was trying to keep everything on the same grimly monotonous wavelength, then it probably would've been to the film's benefit to drop Mychael Danna's score entirely, since every time you hear it it reminds you you're watching a movie.

 

I did like it better than Moneyball, but that's not saying a whole lot.

[mattmav45]

Simply a damn good film.

 

Making a film based off a true story is more tricky than what may initially appear.  Typically, a director needs to supplement his own style in different ways to account for the somewhat blandness inherent in everyday life.  On the rare occasion there comes along a story in and ofit itself has ingredients ripe for damn good cinema.  Thankfully for the viewer, such is very much the case here.

 

This is a film that is firmly engrained in its characters.  Not only is this focus placed on the development of said characters, but perhaps how the dynamics of those characters mesh and mingle with one another.  In fact, my memory of this film will be the three central characters at the forefront, and the manner in which the three characters breathed off of one another.

 

It makes sense to start with John du Pont, played by Steve Carrell.  This is a character that thrives off mystery.  We are not initially given information regarding the psyche of John du Pont.  The mystery regarding his motives makes up a large part of why this film works, particulary in the firt half.  Unfortunately, once the inner workings of his persona are fully relieved, the character loses a great deal of its luster.  Thankfully, there are two more characters in this film more than willing to pick up some slack.

 

For me, Mark and David Schultz provide the core and energy of the film. On one hand you have older brother David, somewhat of a golden child and well-though of by many.  On the other lies Mark, more of a forgotten child and definitely on the more vunerable side.  It is the interplay between these two characters that make this film memorable to me, particulary when the two characters analyzed in the context of John du Pont.

 

The negative factor regarding this film to me has to be the lack of a single defining power.  What I mean by this is simply that the film delves into many different areas into three main characters, and not one really stand out from one another.  This is not a big problem, but when I think back on this film I will likely remember it being as a good film rather than having that extra something to make it truly special.  I mentioned before that this is the rare film that is able to get by on story alone, but the insertion of some kind of personal style or vision would have elevated it even further.

 

A damn good story with just a few personal touches short of being something transcendent.

[ladyevenstar22]

clearly carell's character has issues with his mom !

 

cool down tatum !

 

i don't know if its the sport in question but there was some serious homoerotic vibe going on 

 

lot of silent scenes....as if guys don't know how to vocalize their emotions 

 

maybe its just a depiction of men to men friendship , very odd , tatum character has issues too and the mix between both men issues make for an unhealthy relationship , he made him feel special by singling him out and then at first turn he insult him ,not sure why the fallout was so dramatic maybe he saw him for the fake he was but when you hear his mom paid someone to be his friend when he was a kid (that's messed up) gotta wonder !

 

rich people do that all the time shape the way history /posterity presents them to the world 

 

 

when you give a person power over you and allow their opinion of you to matter more than your own then they say something that makes you feel like they wave you away it can hurt deeply 

 

his brother didnt want to get involved and he kept trying to persuade him then give up but then Du Pont goes after him and gets him to come but now mike wants to leave asking his brother to uproot yet again , clearly a mess up situation 

 

lot of tension also due to fact i can't remember what happens exactly even though i read about it when film came out !

 

 

shit they're in the middle of nowhere could he have been saved in time from 3 bullets wounds?!!!

did he do it becaus he felt like the brother came in between them or kept his brother at a safe distance from his creepy influence?

 

uhhh the end is a bit weird , so what happen with the wrestling team bid at world cup? eh ok i read the tidbit at the end 

 

so did du pont never give any interview as to why he did it?

[Blankments]

I really liked it, but more as an actors' showcase than as an actual movie. It does have a lot interesting stuff to say about masculinity and the American Dream though and it has a good mood to it. Overall, it's pretty good A

[JohnnyGossamer]

Difficult movie to gauge. I didn't really feel the masculinity study much. I noticed it but it seemed to hit more of a false note. Felt more abandoned overgrown children battle frustration boiling over between John and Mark. One - as portrayed in the film - with a distanced, cold mother and the other with an understanding but somewhat misguided paternal brother. It was very odd and foolish, in my opinion, for the movie to give any hint as to why John did what he did... I wish they'd have better illustrated his mental deterioration in the last act. I feel like he was distant but probably better known/understood by those closest to him. Which, in some ways, detracted from what Carell had to work with.

 

It's certainly very somber. But, I really didn't feel much remorse for Dave. I mean, he knew this guy was a nut. And, honestly, he should've opted to leave regardless of pay. I did like it better than Capote. But, unfortunately, I felt similarly there. Somber, uncomfortable fog of frames that envelope the viewer and, in the end, don't leave them with much to ponder after. Just emptiness held together by some fine, fine acting and some perfectly cold, ominous cinematography.

 

But, even though it's very simple, it's very good at what it gets right. As of now, B+/B.

Edited January 27, 2015 by JohnnyGossamer

[Blankments]

Just rewatched it and damn I really like it now. Ruffalo AND Tatum I both think deliver masterclass performances; as in I think now they both have best performances in respective categories of 2014. I also just love the themes in it. It may not be my favorite movie of last year, but I think it might be the best made one. A+

[Gopher]

This was such a bore. Which is a shame because Tatum and Ruffalo are electric in this thing and there's little supporting them. Felt like the least interesting tone for this story.

Edited August 18, 2015 by Gopher

[Ezen Baklattan]

Oh my god stop agreeing with me Gopher. I feel like the Anti-Baumer.

[CoolioD1]

the more its sat in my mind and with rewatches the more it rises as one of my favourites of last year. I wish all movies were this meticulous.

[TStechnij]

the more its sat in my mind and with rewatches the more it rises as one of my favourites of last year. I wish all movies were this meticulous.

Couldn't agree more. The chilling aesthetic is awesome.