After a rapturous response following its Cannes debut earlier this year, Foxcatcher has hit all the major film festivals and spawned a similar reaction. Even though a theatrical release is still a month away, Bennett Miller’s true story feature has already garnered enough positive press that awards consideration chatter has begun. The Moneyball and Capote director has assembled a crop of stellar talent to tell the bizarre story of Olympic Wrestling brothers Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) and Dave Schultz (Mark Ruffalo), and their unorthodox relationship with their coach (Steve Carell.)
This new trailer is the first to offer an in-depth look at the athleticism of the brothers, and the darkness that dwells behind the closed doors of competition. It’s undoubtedly Tatum who’s in the spotlight, but as we’ve seen in previous clips, this is Carell’s show through and through. As their nutty millionaire trainer John Du Pont, his nuanced performance hints at his manipulative side we can expect to see more of in the finished film. The heavy prosthetics that Carell dons render him practically unrecognizable, which only adds to his sinister turn.
Foxcatcher arrives in theatres on November 14th. You can check out the trailer over at Yahoo for the time being. We’ll post an embed here once one becomes available.
Based on true events, FOXCATCHER tells the dark and fascinating story of the unlikely and ultimately tragic relationship between an eccentric multi-millionaire and two champion wrestlers.
When Olympic Gold Medal winning wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) is invited by wealthy heir John du Pont (Steve Carell) to move on to the du Pont estate and help form a team to train for the 1988 Seoul Olympics at his new state-of-the-art training facility, Schultz jumps at the opportunity, hoping to focus on his training and finally step out of the shadow of his revered brother, Dave (Mark Ruffalo). Driven by hidden needs, du Pont sees backing Schultz’s bid for Gold and the chance to “coach” a world-class wrestling team as an opportunity to gain the elusive respect of his peers and, more importantly, his disapproving mother (Vanessa Redgrave).
Flattered by the attention and entranced by du Pont’s majestic world, Mark comes to see his benefactor as a father figure and grows increasingly dependent on him for approval. Though initially supportive, du Pont’s mercurial personality turns and he begins to lure Mark into an unhealthy lifestyle that threatens to undermine his training. Soon du Pont’s erratic behavior and cruel psychological game-play begin to erode the athlete’s already shaky self-esteem. Meanwhile du Pont becomes fixated on Dave, who exudes the confidence both he and Mark lack, knowing that these are things even his money cannot buy. Fueled by du Pont’s increasing paranoia and alienation from the brothers, the trio is propelled towards a tragedy no one could have foreseen.
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