Foxcatcher
Director: Bennett Miller Year: 2014 Foxcatcher is a cold, class-warfare based mystery. To add gravitas, we are told in the opening that this film is based on a true story. It opens with stock footage that presents the wealth, animals and pomp and circumstance of a traditional, historical British fox hunt. Dignitaries ride horses. Dogs bark, jump and spin wildly, ready for the hunt. The fox just runs for its life. The fox is Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum). He is a gold medal winning Olympic wrestler, two years removed from glory in the 1984 games. After displaying some legitimate skill by wrestling a stuffed dummy, he speaks to an auditorium filled with bored elementary students about what it means to be a champion. Not only is his fee a mere twenty dollars, but he was the second Schultz in line for the gig, with his older brother and fellow gold medalist, Dave (Mark Ruffalo), having passed it down to him. Where there is vulnerability, there is opportunity. Jon DuPont,...