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Foxcatcher is a 2014 American biographical sports film thriller film, produced and directed by Bennett Miller. Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, the film stars Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo. Its plot is loosely based on multimillionaire Du Pont family heir and wrestling enthusiast John du Pont's 1986 recruitment of Olympic gold medalist brothers Mark and Dave Schultz, to help coach American wrestlers, and du Pont's murder of Dave in 1996.
Foxcatcher premiered on May 19, 2014 at the Cannes Film Festival, where Miller won Best Director. Upon its theatrical release on November 14, 2014, it received critical acclaim for the three lead actors' performances, Miller's direction, and the visual style and tone. Foxcatcher was nominated for five awards at the 87th Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Carell, Best Supporting Actor for Ruffalo and Best Director for Miller. The film also received three Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Drama.
Mark stays in a homey guest house and is greeted there by du Pont. Through training with his new teammates and du Pont's financial support, Mark excels with Foxcatcher, winning gold at the 1987 World Wrestling Championships. Du Pont praises him, and they develop a friendship. Du Pont introduces Mark to cocaine, which he starts to use regularly. He confides in Mark, whom he now calls a true friend, telling him how his mother Jean du Pont paid a boy to act as his friend. John organizes an over-50 masters wrestling tournament, which he wins after his opponent is paid to lose the final. Jean tells her son that wrestling is a "low sport" and that she does not like seeing him "being low". One day Mark and his teammates take the morning off from training to watch mixed martial arts on television. Angered by this (as well as Mark's bitter refusal to be in his brother's presence in Foxcatcher), John slaps Mark and berates him, saying that he will enlist Dave by any means necessary while also demanding that Mark work out his differences with his brother as soon as possible.
Dave decides to move with his family to Pennsylvania so he can join Foxcatcher. His self-esteem damaged by du Pont, Mark decides to work and train alone, pushing away both John and Dave. As Foxcatcher prepares to enter the preliminaries for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, John's mother is escorted into his gym to watch him coach his team. He awkwardly demonstrates basic maneuvers for her and the other wrestlers. Jean leaves in disgust after seeing him back mount to his student.
At the 1988 Olympic Trials in Pensacola, Florida, Mark performs poorly, losing his first match against Rico Chiapparelli. Enraged, Mark destroys his room and goes on an eating binge, before Dave manages to break into his room, shocked to discover Mark's condition. They work feverishly so Mark can make his weight class. As Mark trains, John arrives and attempts to speak with him, but Dave turns him away. Mark competes well enough to win his match and make the Olympic team. Dave notices that du Pont is absent, who left for Pennsylvania as his mother died.
After returning to the estate, Mark tells Dave that he needs to leave Foxcatcher to get away from John, having accepted a coaching role at Brigham Young University, and unsuccessfully asks Dave to leave with him. For a documentary funded by John about his exploits with Foxcatcher, Dave reluctantly praises him as coach and mentor. Mark loses his matches in Seoul on purpose, after which he leaves Foxcatcher. While Dave continues to live on John's estate and train with Foxcatcher, as a condition for his remaining, he gets du Pont to continue to support Mark financially.
Later, John is sitting alone in his mansion's trophy room watching the documentary about Foxcatcher, which ends with Mark complimenting him at a ceremony depicted earlier. John calls his bodyguard and drives to Dave's home, where he finds him in the driveway working on his car radio. As Dave approaches John's car to greet him, John threatens him at gunpoint before shooting him three times and driving away. Dave's wife Nancy rushes out to him, and he dies in her arms. Setting a trap for John at his home, the police ambush and arrest him. The film ends with Mark competing in a cage fighting match with the crowd's cheers ringing in his head.
Filming also took place in the Pittsburgh area communities of Rector (Ligonier Township), McKeesport, White Oak, Connoquenessing, and Wilkins The production sought permission to film in West Mifflin Middle School in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. In December 2012, filming took place in Washington High School, Trinity High School, the Petersen Events Center in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Oakland, and the California University of Pennsylvania Convocation Center. Filming was scheduled to last through January 2013.
The scene where the Foxcatcher team watches mixed martial arts on television in 1988 uses footage from Gary Goodridge's win over Paul Herrera at UFC 8, from February 1996. At UFC 9 that March, Mark Schultz made his MMA debut, defeating Goodridge. In the film, he is depicted facing a fictional opponent. Channing Tatum stated that the role was "the hardest acting challenge I've had to date."
Music supervisor Susan Jacobs selected samples from various composers to be used as placeholders for the temp music. Among these were recordings by film composer West Dylan Thordson, which Miller liked. After Thordson met Miller in New York City the following year, Thordson decided to move to New York to compose the test score. Eventually, however, he became involved as a co-composers. Mychael Danna, whom Miller had worked with in Capote (2005) and Moneyball (2011), was assigned to complete the finished score. However, Simonsen would receive the credit for the principal composer.
According to Thordson, there was a "similar intimacy to the melodic voices all three of us composers gravitate towards". While Danna and Simonsen evoked a sophisticated quality, Thordson incorporated a rough and handmade sound, reminiscent of "the world of a slightly out-of-tune farmhouse piano".
The film made its way through the late-2014 festival circuit, appearing at the Telluride, Toronto, New York, Vancouver and London film festivals. Foxcatcher received a limited release on November 14, 2014.
The film opened across U.S. theaters through December 2014 and January 2015. The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD March 3, 2015.
Justin Chang of Variety praised the film, writing: "Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum give superb performances in Bennett Miller's powerfully disturbing true-crime saga." Eric Kohn of Indiewire also reacted positively, with most of his praise going towards Carell's and Tatum's performances.
Donald Clarke of The Irish Times praised Miller's direction, saying that "he Miller hits his stride with a stunning portrayal of psychopathy and moral decadence in the unlikely environment of Olympic wrestling." Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter praised Carell's performance, calling it "career changing."
Budd Wilkins of Slant Magazine, however, gave the film a negative review, writing that it "offers us next to nothing of utility or complexity about du Pont's pathology."
| 87th Academy Awards | ||||
| Best Director | Bennett Miller | |||
| Best Actor | Steve Carell | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Mark Ruffalo | |||
| Best Original Screenplay | E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman | |||
| Best Makeup and Hairstyling | Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard | |||
| 4th AACTA International Awards | Best Actor | Steve Carell | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Mark Ruffalo | |||
| 2014 Art Directors Guild Awards | Excellence in Production Design for a Contemporary Film | Jess Gonchor | ||
| 2014 Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | Bennett Miller | ||
| Best Director | ||||
| 68th British Academy Film Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Mark Ruffalo | ||
| Steve Carell | ||||
| Casting Society of America | Big Budget Drama | Jeanne McCarthy, Rori Bergman, Donna M. Belajac | ||
| Central Ohio Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actor | Mark Ruffalo | ||
| Best Ensemble | Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum, Vanessa Redgrave, Sienna Miller | |||
| International Cinephile Society Awards | Best Actor | Channing Tatum | ||
| 18th Hollywood Film Awards | Hollywood Ensemble Award | Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum, Vanessa Redgrave, Sienna Miller | ||
| 24th Gotham Independent Film Awards | Gotham Jury Award | Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum, Vanessa Redgrave, Sienna Miller | ||
| 30th Independent Spirit Awards | Special Distinction Award | Bennett Miller, Anthony Bregman, Megan Ellison, Jon Kilik, E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman, Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum | ||
| Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards | Best Special Make-Up Effects in Feature Length Motion Picture | Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard | ||
| MTV Movie Awards | Best Male Performance | Channing Tatum | ||
| Best Shirtless Performance | ||||
| Best On-Screen Transformation | Steve Carell | |||
| Producers Guild of America Awards | Best Theatrical Motion Picture | Megan Ellison, Jon Kilik, Bennett Miller | ||
| San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award | Best Supporting Actor | Mark Ruffalo | ||
| San Diego Film Critics Society Award | Best Supporting Actor | |||
| 30th Santa Barbara International Film Festival | Outstanding Performance of the Year Award | Steve Carell | ||
| 19th Satellite Awards | Best Actor – Motion Picture | |||
| Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | Mark Ruffalo | |||
| 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role | Steve Carell | ||
| Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role | Mark Ruffalo | |||
| 72nd Golden Globe Awards | Best Motion Picture – Drama | |||
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | Steve Carell | |||
| Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | Mark Ruffalo | |||
| Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Original Screenplay | E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman | ||
| Awards Circuit Community Awards | Best Motion Picture | |||
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Steve Carell | |||
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Mark Ruffalo | |||
| Best Makeup and Hairstyling | Bill Torso and Dennis Liddiard | |||
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