'Foxcatcher'
A
He’s a far cry from Michael Scott.
I speak of Steve Carell, of course, in his transformative portrayal of John du Pont in Bennett Miller’s 2014 awards contender, “Foxcatcher.”
Before I get into Carell’s unbelievable performance, allow me to sing my praises for “Foxcatcher” as a whole.
Undeniably one of the best films of the season, “Foxcatcher” is the story of a wrestler, Mark Schultz, played by Channing Tatum, and his quest for excellence, a feat he believes he’ll achieve with the coaching of the mentally unstable, richer-than-God heir to the du Pont family fortune, John du Pont.
I always say the hardest thing to get right in a film — more specifically, for the director to get right — is tone.
Miller has crafted a pensive, tense, unnerving film out of this real-life story.
All three leads do an excellent job in conveying this tone throughout the film.
Mark Ruffalo thoughtfully acts as Mark Schultz’s brother, David, who gets wrapped up in the du Pont scheme as well.
Channing Tatum, playing the protagonist, is probably the weakest link of the three.
That’s not at all to say he isn’t good — he’s definitely wonderful — but this movie has made it clear no matter how refined the script and how magnificent the directing, Tatum is never really going to be much more than a beautiful meathead.
But Carell makes every penny spent on a ticket worth it.
His acting is not only career-best, it’s by far some of the best acting this year.
The character of John du Pont is so difficult to play.
He’s a man who’s never really had to earn a dollar in his life, yet still has to nobly fill his time, a man who begs to have independence, yet still takes every breath just to impress his elderly mother.
“Foxcatcher” will probably not win the awards it deserves — “Birdman” and “Boyhood” unfortunately seem to have those in the bag.
But “Foxcatcher” is without a doubt one of the best films of the year.
