Foxcatcher (2014)
Often in the seasonal Awards Race, there will be at least one film that fails to leave an impact mainly due to a slower methodical pace which often feels out of place in a crowded Awards Season with so much releasing and so many conversations happening in such a short amount of time. For the 2014-2015 Awards Season, the film to suffer that fate was Bennett Miller's Foxcatcher. Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) and Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo) were brothers brought together by a love for the sport of wrestling both finding major success even winning gold medals at the Olympics. Their lives were forever changed when they met John du Pont (Steve Carell), a multimillionaire who also had a love for wrestling and wanted to start his own team on his family farm named Foxcatcher. Things start off well enough but it soon is realized that something is off and that danger is brewing as John grows increasingly obsessive and abusive.

Even on first viewing of the film, it is impossible not to immediately be impressed with the acting within Foxcatcher. Films like Darkest Hour and Vice get a ton of love for a single actors transformation but Foxcatcher goes above and beyond transforming not one but three actors creating an incredibly strong triangle of performances at the center of the film. Channing Tatum gives the work of his career bringing a physicalness and intensity to the character of Mark Schultz which immediately helps him stand out. It's an incredibly methodical and crafted performance not playing its hand too early as the tension both inside and around Mark slowly builds and builds. Mark Ruffalo is unrecognizable in his portrayal of Dave Schultz becoming the most likable and open of the three main characters. In a movie filled with characters stuck in their own minds, Ruffalo offers a much needed breath of humanity and reason that helps ground the film at multiple points. The last of the main three is Steve Carell who even more than Ruffalo gets a full physical transformation looking like a completely different person. It is easy to complain about Carell stealing the Best Actor push from Channing Tatum, but what makes it even worse is that Carell's performance doesn't really work all that well. As a voice performance there is an obvious effort by Carell but at multiple points the makeup is so thick preventing his face from emoting that it feels distracting. It is far from a bad performance but especially when compared to Tatum and Ruffalo, it just doesn't hold up to the same level as those around him.

What really stood out on a revisit of the film was the depth behind these characters. Foxcatcher provides a really wonderful look at the motivations and emotions buried within its subjects allowing the story to naturally let these emotions form and not force anything onto the audience. There is a never a point in the film where the screenplay coming from E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman tells the audience what it is trying to say. Foxcatcher is a film of subtle dialogue lines and emotions from the performances that reveals three captivating stories and character arcs. The most intriguing comes from that of John du Pont. He is a man struggling with a need for power and control which is slowly explained as we see the relationship he shares with his mother (Vanessa Redgrave) and his emotional manipulation of Mark. It is a story and a character that takes multiple viewings to truly understand and appreciate but is well worth the time. The only portion of the film which feels underdeveloped is the end specifically when it comes to Mark Schultz and where he ends up. Without getting into spoilers, this is a character who has been the main focus of the entire story and easily the film could have used another 15-20 minutes to give that arc and character a proper conclusion.
Past what the film is trying to say and the three main performances, the film also technically has multiple impressive elements that go underrated. The cinematography from Greig Fraser elegantly captures the rich New England setting that the film takes place in creating a sense of wealth and expectation that serves the film nicely on a thematic level. Part of this also is because of the production design which like nearly every other aspect of the film is well crafted and clearly thoughtful. Every piece of the film serves a purpose and helps push the themes and messages of the film. The music used is all well crafted but the most impressive aspect of the sound design is the quietness that the film uses. Foxcatcher is a film that fully understands the power that the lack of a score and music can have on a scene and crafts a wonderfully mixed sound design.
Foxcatcher might often get overlooked when it comes to the best films of 2014 but really should be remembered. The film serves as a masterclass in subtle filmmaking creating a rich story through seemingly nonchalant methods that show the level of craft and thought put into the film. The film might have had a frustrating Awards Season for multiple reasons, but especially on rewatches really becomes a work of art that should be appreciated way more than it is.
Past what the film is trying to say and the three main performances, the film also technically has multiple impressive elements that go underrated. The cinematography from Greig Fraser elegantly captures the rich New England setting that the film takes place in creating a sense of wealth and expectation that serves the film nicely on a thematic level. Part of this also is because of the production design which like nearly every other aspect of the film is well crafted and clearly thoughtful. Every piece of the film serves a purpose and helps push the themes and messages of the film. The music used is all well crafted but the most impressive aspect of the sound design is the quietness that the film uses. Foxcatcher is a film that fully understands the power that the lack of a score and music can have on a scene and crafts a wonderfully mixed sound design.
Foxcatcher might often get overlooked when it comes to the best films of 2014 but really should be remembered. The film serves as a masterclass in subtle filmmaking creating a rich story through seemingly nonchalant methods that show the level of craft and thought put into the film. The film might have had a frustrating Awards Season for multiple reasons, but especially on rewatches really becomes a work of art that should be appreciated way more than it is.