Movie review: Foxcatcher

Steve Carell's complete transformation into a manipulative, psychotic individual has scored him a Best Actor nomination.

Cast: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo
Director: Bennett Miller
Running Time: 134 mins
Rating: M (Drug use, violence)

Verdict: Great performances even out this slow, detached drama.

There are times in this brilliantly acted and understated psychological drama when it seems very little happens at all, but when the lights go up you're left reeling by the culmination of events that have quietly unfolded.

Foxcatcher is a slow burner, and one of the more unusual true sports stories you'll come across. If you've never quite got wrestling then Foxcatcher won't help much, but then it isn't really about wrestling. Rather, it's the story of two insecure, fragile individuals who come together from vastly different worlds to fulfil their ambitions and make something of themselves.

Steve Carell takes on the role of multimillionaire John E. du Pont, the heir to the du Pont family fortune who, among his many hobbies, is a wrestling fanatic who pours millions into the sport, including funding a world-class wrestling team named after his family estate, Foxcatcher Farms.

Carell is more versatile than he's often credited. He's played the eccentric (Little Miss Sunshine), the boring straight guy (Hope Springs), and nasty tosser (The Way Way Back). But this is his first major dramatic role, and, despite an obviously fake nose, he's excellent.

It's not just Carell's physical transformation into a pale, beaky nosed, creepy looking guy that's scored him a Best Actor nomination. It's his complete transformation into a manipulative, insecure, lonely, psychotic individual.

It's not the only layered performance. Channing Tatum is a more obvious choice as the shy, introverted Olympic Gold Medal-winning wrestler Mark Schultz, but is also fully invested in his character. Keen to step out from under the wing of more popular wrestling brother Dave (Ruffalo), Mark accepts du Pont's offer to lead Team Foxcatcher and train for the 1988 Seoul Olympics at du Pont's wrestling facility.

They bond over wrestling, and a shared sense of loneliness and patriotism, but it's not long before the unstable du Pont screws with the young impressionable Schultz - mentally, emotionally and physically. Older brother Dave is aware Mark is throwing his life away, and agrees to join Team Foxcatcher to get him back in shape. His downfall is his inability to fall in unquestionably behind his patron and "coach".

Like Carell, Ruffalo is an unlikely choice of actor when you think of 80s wrestlers, but he's utterly convincing (from a layperson's point of view).

Sienna Miller,re-booting her career stateside by playing wives (American Sniper, Foxcatcher) also makes her mark as Dave's spouse Nancy, rounding off the lineup of impressive performances.

Those performances are key to the success of Foxcatcher, as director Miller's cool, detached tone and deliberate pacing makes for a film that's without fuss or melodrama. It also makes for a film that's hard to engage with emotionally.

For all that, Foxcatcher is a film you find yourself wanting to talk about, not just because the story is unnerving and volatile, but because Miller surprises with his choice of actors, and challenges with a character-driven approach to this scandalous, shocking material.

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