Foxcatcher

The tale of Mark & Dale Schultz and the interactions with John du Pont could have probably been an entire TV series with several seasons. The eccentricities and complexities of Du Pont were just scratched in Foxcatcher, but even that is very impressive. Mark Schultz won the 1984 gold medal and was primed to repeat in 1988. His coach, best friend, and mentor was his older brother Dale. They both won gold medals at 1984, but Mark was the prime candidate to repeat due to being younger. John Du Pont, part of the Du Pont chemical fortune, decides to "help" Mark in his training by paying him to stay and train with the people of his choosing at Foxcatcher Farm. The farm is located on the du Pont estate in Newtown Square, PA near Valley Forge. Mark excitedly tells Dave, but Dave has no desire to uproot his family and move to PA. Mark starts training and brings some other wrestlers to Foxcatcher Farm. Du Pont and Mark become very close at Mark wins the World championship and seems primed to repeat his Olympic gold medal victory in 1988 in Seoul. Things become complication and Mark becomes psychologically damaged. Dave is brought in to help, but the situation worsens. The story is really the character study and performances of Tatum, Ruffalo, and Carell. All are very strong, though I will say after seeing the documentary that is shown being created in the film, Carell is too much in his portrayal of du Pont. Tatum is excellent as a wrestler in total mental & emotional turmoil. Ruffalo is phenomenal as Dale Schultz. I really thought his portrayal of Dale Schultz was especially impressive considering he is 47 and he looked like he could still wrestle at the Olympic level. Bottom Line: 8.7 out of 10. Very good movie that covers a TON of ground and very complex issues. It neither condemns or deifies anyone in the story. Very well done.