Foxcatcher movie review

Article by Gabe Zia

Lazy Film Critic reviews....

Foxcatcher is a drama/thriller (kind of) following the story of wrestler Mark Schultz, and his relationship with his brother Dave Schultz, and his coach John Du Pont. The film is based on a true story, mainly surrounding John Du Pont being a rich psychopath, who pretty much snapped around the time of the 1988 Olympics. However, the film is more about their relationship to one another than anything else. The film stars Channing Tatum as Mark Schultz, Mark Ruffalo as Dave Schultz, and Steve Carrell as John Du Pont.

Probably the biggest highlight of Foxcatcher are the performances, mainly by Tatum and Carrel. Channing Tatums character is easily the most complex, and most well played character in his career so-far. He doesn't say a whole lot, however the way he walks around, the way he looks at people, the kind of vibe he generally gives off, you can tell he's got some issues. And this is all in the performance, which I've gotta give props to Channing Tatum for that.

Now, it might seem like Channing Tatum gives the best performance in the film. Which would have been true, if not for the powerhouse performance by Steve Carrell. Usually with prosthetics, you can still kind of tell that it's whoever that actor is. With Foxcatcher however, this is not Steve Carrell you're seeing on screen. There is nothing reminiscent of Steve Carrell in this movie at all, and he's completely unrecognizable here. Considering the fact that he's pretty much spent his whole career with comedy, him being able to shed all that to play this creepy, psychotic, and at times scary character is downright incredible.

However, despite all of that, Foxcatcher is far from perfect. From most critical standpoints, this could be considered a Tour De Force, or another term used for Cannes film festival or things like that. However, I like to also take a look at whether or not a film was entertaining, or whether or not it's rewatchable, and Foxcatcher is unfortunately neither of these things. I'm usually pretty easygoing when it comes to a movies entertainment quality, it doesn't take much for me to get into a film. However, in the case of Foxcatcher, there isn't really anything to keep you engaged, and keep you in the film. Which, for me, is something that I consider a big problem.

Final Rating
Here's the thing with Foxcatcher. It's good. It has good qualities to it. Channing Tatum and Steve Carrell give oscar nomination worthy performances, and the direction of the film is good. I don't think anyone would call this a bad movie. However, it's not an entertaining film, and for my time, it's not exactly worth it.

Foxcatcher: 3.4/5