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Foxcatcher

Foxcatcher

USA 2014 - with Channing Tatum, Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Sienna Miller, Vanessa Redgrave ...

The Frankfurt-Tipp rating:

Movie info

Original title:Foxcatcher
Genre:Drama
Direction:Bennett Miller
Cinema release:05.02.2015
Production country:USA 2014
Running time:Approx. 135 min.
Rated:Age 12+
Web page:www.foxcatcher.de/

Although he won a gold medal in wrestling for the U.S. at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, the fame and fortune Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) had hoped for unfortunately failed to materialize. Thus, he leads a dreary life of poverty and loneliness. Only the regular training sessions with his older brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo) give him some support. But then Mark gets an offer that could change his life forever: Billionaire John du Pont (Steve Carell) invites him to move to his feudal estate to train with the U.S. wrestling team Foxcatcher for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. While Dave, who is supposed to mentor Mark, is hesitant to accept the offer, Mark is quickly smitten by Du Pont and his eccentric lifestyle. And so he embarks on a dangerous addiction that soon takes on a disastrous momentum, heading for disaster.

Foxcatcher is based on true events that director Bennett Miller (Capote) researched through personal interviews with people involved, such as Mark Schultz, as well as archival footage, newspaper articles and other period documents. He also worked closely with the U.S. wrestling community to be able to achieve the best possible level of authenticity in the wrestling scenes. This meticulous research also enabled the main actors Channing Tatum, Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo to prepare precisely for their roles. Carell in particular, supported by the excellent work of the make-up artists, manages to completely disappear behind the character of the eccentric billionaire. The result is intense and at times almost frightening acting cinema at its finest. The fact that Mark Schultz completely distanced himself from the film and was less than pleased with the way he and his brother were portrayed in the film does little to change this, admittedly.

In itself, Miller succeeds very well in building up an oppressive atmosphere that is inevitably headed for disaster. Whether you know in advance how the story will end or are taken completely by surprise by the events in the final act, the whole thing is intense. However, the acclaimed filmmaker takes a little too much time getting there. Especially at the beginning he strains the nerves of the audience with a completely unnecessary slowness. Thus, as a viewer, you have long understood what a bleak life the completely disillusioned Mark leads before Miller shows for minutes on end how he prepares ready-made meals surrounded by gray monotony and clings to the few memories of his brief Olympic glory.

However, even when the story finally gets going a bit after what feels like an eternity, the production wallows in unwieldy leisureliness. This works very well at times, as it allows the initially invisible downward spiral in which the brothers are caught to unfold its full intensity. On the other hand, some scenes feel extremely plodding due to this style of staging that takes some getting used to, which could make both the story and the characters difficult to access for many viewers. The somewhat exhausting soundtrack further intensifies this impression.

You have to be able to get into this to fully appreciate not only the strength of the acting performances, but also the power of the story. Only if you can do that does Foxcatcher turn out to be a depressing and stirring drama that gives its actors the opportunity to reveal entirely new facets of their skills. It's certainly not for the broad mass taste, but those who enjoy approaching even hard-to-find fare and appreciate intense acting cinema shouldn't miss this film. Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp

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Cinema trailer for the movie "Foxcatcher (USA 2014)"
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