A millionaire lineage’s traditional indulgence in horse racing shifts to Wrestling with one if its descendants – John E. du Pont sponsoring ’84 Olympics Wrestling Gold Medalist Mark Schultz with the focus of winning at Seoul ’88. His efforts to bring in Mark’s elder brother Dave (another Gold Medalist) take beatings initially & by the time he gets him onboard, du Pont seems disturbed and hurts the relationship of the three. Does the rich man’s psychic power game end up affecting the brothers’ bonding? We get to see that and a lot more!
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Language:
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English
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Running Time:
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134 min
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Rating:
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R
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Release date:
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19 May 2014
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Directed by:
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Bennett Miller
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Produced by:
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Bennett Miller
Megan Ellison
Jon Kilik
Anthony Bregman
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Written by:
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E. Max Frye
Dan Futterman
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Starring:
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Steve Carell
Channing Tatum
Mark Ruffalo
Vanessa Redgrave
Sienna Miller
Anthony Michael Hall
Guy Boyd
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Music by:
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Rob Simonsen
West Dylan Thordson
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Shot by:
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Greig Fraser
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Editing by:
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Stuart Levy
Conor O’Neill
Jay Cassidy
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Distributed by:
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Sony Pictures Classics
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What’s Hot
- Frye & Futterman have wonderfully adapted the disastrous du Pont influence in US Wrestling adding to it a touch of class & drama. Initially the viewer is unaware of where the film heads & later, a few cold twists add to the intensity.
- Bennett Miller’s prowess in handling scripts related to sports gets another fine sample in Foxcatcher (after his earlier Moneyball). The sport of Wrestling is depicted only for the layman to understand and doesn’t get technical. When things focus on the psychological side of it, the film’s intensity level gets elevated.
- Steve Carell’s performance as John du Pont is unbelievably good. His makeovers for the role, the accent, his body/facial language are stunning and makes him a solid contender for the Academy award. Channing Tatum seems to have lived his role as Mark (the isolated scene at his hotel room tops!) & comes up with his most prolific showing yet and Ruffalo, as the restrained Dave, is brilliant as well.
- Sets & Costumes are realistic offering a good level of detailing. The editing of Cassidy & Co is merit worthy for the seamless transition between and within training, matches & conversations.
- Rob Simonsen’s music is inspiring, with the piano notes pleasing with its unpredictability. Fraser’s cinematography comes to the director’s aid in showing the training & match sequences with clarity.
What’s Not
- The movie might be based on Wrestling but it has quite a dark, cold side to it as it ponders over the psyche of two men. That might disappoint the sport-movie freaks out there.
Badges
Verdict
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