FOXCATCHER

trailer

The new movie starring STEVE CARELL as JOHN du PONT, the millionaire convicted killer of  boxing champion DAVE SCHULTZ, interpreted brilliantly by MARK RUFFALO, had me researching the web for days before writing my critique. Now I have a balanced view of what I saw.

CHANNING TATUM plays MARK SCHULTZ, who with his brother Dave was part of the greatest Olympic Wrestling Champion team of his time. The movie opens to Mark's bleak prospects after becoming an Olympic Gold Medalist as he sits alone in his sorry apartment eating TV dinners. In comes John E du Pont with an offer to provide for his material needs so he can focus on going for the gold in 1988 as he had in 1984.

The movie is slow paced and has an even tempo that is monotonous as events unfold at a crawling pace. We are shown in this way the loneliness of du Pont who, although he finances every person on his compound, is also left out of the fun interactions happening with the groups of young people. In recent interviews Mark Schultz describes how he perceived du Pont as a paranoid drug addict who was abusive towards him and whom he resented so deeply that he plotted how he would murder him during the course of many months. I found this interesting that Mark would find du Pont paranoid while he himself was plotting his murder! I would think du Pont was justified in being paranoid! And feeling that Mark was ungrateful.

Eventually it was Dave who got the discharge of du Pont's inner turmoil.

This movie is about top notch acting! You must look at this 15 minutes interview of John E du Pont recorded in 1988 to appreciate Steve Carell's astonishing performance. It reveals the truth about how ordinary people use and feel contempt for the very rich, and how the very rich feel in a bubble where they cannot trust the people around them. Mainly it reveals that all the money in the world does not make you feel less lonely, or loved, or appreciated, after all Mark resented du Pont for his financial support that he viewed as stifling.

-LENA GHIO