It may be because the story doesn't go very far, and when it does start to it steps back and changes its mind. Olympic champion Mark Shultz (portrayed by Channing Tatum) is contacted by John Du Pont (Steve Carell) who asks for he and a team of wrestlers would be willing to train on his property under the team name Foxcatcher, to which Shultz accepts. Over time they become close, until Du Pont is outraged by Shutlz allowing that the team takes the morning off, leading to Shultz's brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo) being placed on the team. This is where the film begins to tumble, as it's something which comes out of nowhere and is barely explained, just is so integral to the rest of the film that comes across as disjointed and out of place. Maybe that's how it went in real life, but I'm sure there's was a lot more hinted towards it then what eventually came across. For the rest of the film, it remains disjointed from the first act as Tatum goes off Carell and the eventual conclusion, which is set so far apart from the rest of the film that it fails to make the emotional punch that it tries to make. If the screenplay was spruced up more, then maybe these mistakes would have non-existent, but it also feels like it couldn't be done in any other way. A real headscratcher. As such, it affects the overall pace of the piece, as it's incredibly slow-going from beginning to near end. You expect something interested to happen or to for something big to occur to make , and when something does occur it isn't played to its full potential.
It's not all bad news though, as Steve Carell is in his best role to date here as Du Pont. Granted, that's not saying much when you look at his movie resumé, but nevertheless it's a role which he should be recognised for. That being said, the character isn't quite as interesting as built up to be, which is very disappointing when considering he's the film's answer to an antagonist. Meanwhile, Channing Tatum gives his most challenging yet often wooden role to date (interesting when considering it's more wooden than his peg-doll character in The Book of Life) and Mark Ruffalo is given little to do aside from be a family man. These three are the only notable characters, as the rest have few lines or are unmemorable once the credits roll, including Vanessa Redgrave as Du Pont's mother and Sienna Miller as Ruffalo's wife - the only women in the film to be given actual roles and are still criminally underused.
The direction is fine too; not great and at times rather amateurish, but otherwise good enough to survive a full viewing, but the real crowning glory of the film is from the make up department, who managed to succeed in hiding Carell's features and create the correct caricature brilliantly. It's not as magnificent as those saying they didn't recognise him think it is, but it is still great stuff.
Overall, Foxcatcher is one of the duller films to come out of the awards circuit. The appeal is there, and performances and direction are both fine, but it's bloated and dull as it drags its feet across its 130 minute runtime. Maybe not the best sports-based film to start off on, as it earns a mild 4/10.
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