Foxcatcher (2014)

Directed by: Bennett Miller
Country: USA

Movie Review: “Foxcatcher” tells the vile story that, in the 90’s, involved the golden-medal wrestler brothers, Mark and Dave Schultz, and a manipulative schizophrenic millionaire coach, John du Pont, who wanted more credits than he actually deserved, after sponsoring and bringing them to his private Foxcatcher Center in order to prepare the American team for the Olympics. Constantly seeking in vain for his mother’s recognition, du Pont was also a philanthropist, ornithologist, philatelist, ultra-patriotic, sporadic cocaine consumer, and sufficiently insane to kill Dave with three gunshots, after the deterioration of their relationship. Du Pont had already created several problems with Mark, so important to promote the Foxcatcher team, but ultimately discarded after the arrival of his older brother. The fraudulent coach slyly took advantage from the fact that Mark feels himself inferior to his brother, a true model both as a family man and athlete. Scrupulously built, the narrative absorbs our attention since the first minutes and leaves us appalled in its conclusion. Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo were great as the doomed brothers, but it was Steve Carell, as the self-centered paranoid, who shone with a phenomenal, Oscar-worthy performance. Bennett Miller, a distinguished filmmaker who already had gained our respect with “Capote” and “Moneyball”, remarkably handled the bizarre happenings of this sad case, which put a black stain in the American sports history. Among all the real-life stories that are constantly being released on film, the hauntingly atmospheric “Foxcatcher”, assuredly deserves a place on the podium.