I recently read the script to Foxcatcher, based on the unusual true story about multimillionaire John du Pont who indulges various hobbies and decides to open up a facility on his property to train Olympic-level athletes. E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman based their screenplay on Mark Schultz's biography. Both Schultz and his brother Dave were world champion and Olympic gold medal wrestlers in the 1980s who trained at du Pont's Foxcatcher compound which met with a tragic ending. The copy I read was a version from July 2008, so there's a good chance that plenty has been modified since (and hopefully too). When it comes time to market the film, Sony may decide to conceal the ending, for all I know. For purposes of discussing the script in the context of its Oscar hopes, I still try to avoid a major spoiler, which you may already know about (seeing how it happened in real life and you can look it up yourself). Mark (played by Channing Tatum) is a gold medalist from the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, which the Soviet Union boycotted, after the United States refrained from participating in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. He lives in the shadow of his older brother, and wants to recapture previous glories and continue to realize his full potential. Dave (Mark Ruffalo), on the other hand, segued into coaching at various colleges, and finally Foxcatcher, which included guiding Kurt Angle to a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. Mark falls on some hard times, having no income as a coach nor success with his more entrepreneurial efforts, and also having severed ties from his parents as a means to focus his desire on becoming a champion wrestler. After soliciting his talents and image to the best of his limited abilities and resources, du Pont (Steve Carell) finds and invites Mark to join him on his estate, along with a team of other athletes in training, buying his time and abilities (like he does everything else in life). Du Pont is a man imprisoned by his blue blood fortune who still lives with his mother and there's a subtle contrast in the script between the dependence each man demonstrates. They develop a close relationship, with du Pont dazzling Mark with all his money and connections, while it becomes apparent that he's using the star wrestler to service his own ego in the image of his community, and they both soon lose sight of their original goals. Dave initially resists, but eventually relents to du Pont's insistence to coach his brother, and moves his entire family to the training facility. Mark chokes at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and leaves Foxcatcher before things end fatally.
From the script, Du Pont is a millionaire who has never had to work hard for anything in his life, so he's completely incognizant of the belief, dedication and consistency it takes to succeed. He's only concerned with titles and positions, not what it takes to earn them, preferring that everyone call him 'coach.' Yet, ironically, he's more a student, and an insolent one with no desire to learn at that. He's depicted as a nationalist who is overly prideful in his United States. He envisions using his fortunes to a create a super wrestling team to fulfill his Cold War-era sentiment of needing to beat the communists and promote American exceptionalism (so he can feel good about himself, I guess). He's not interested in costs or means, only the juvenile idea of expressing power and dominance. He fashions his wrestlers as his foot-soldiers to "spread the word." The film takes a very hard line against Republicans, and thematically offers that capitalism without integrity mixed with machismo leads to chaos. Criticisms of guns, weapons, and military excess abound. Foxcatcher is a dark portrait of old money and patriotism appropriating a widely respected sport.
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| Ruffalo is bringing some 80s singlet realness here |
After reading the script, I realized I totally blew its Oscar chances out of proportion in March, however. That isn't to say that this Annapurna production couldn't be a Best Picture player, but I'm left wondering if it might end up being in fourth position on Sony's docket, even behind Captain Phillips. Acting wise, Tatum is the lead and Ruffalo is supporting, with Carell existing between those two categories. Tatum has an emotional moment at the end of the film, but I didn't otherwise envision him doing anything beyond the agreeable characters he has played in the past. I could be mistaken though. From the looks of things, Ruffalo has had a bit of a physical transformation. As it stands, I'm not sure I see a lot of acting nominations, though Ruffalo, and perhaps Carell seem the likeliest. How good Tatum is may dictate how Carell gets campaigned. If I were to make a guess at this point, I would say lead. Also in the cast is Vanessa Redgrave (as du Pont's mother), Sienna Miller (Dave's wife), Anthony Michael Hall, and Tara Subkoff. Cinematographer: Greig Fraser (Zero Dark Thirty, Killing Them Softly). Production Designer: Jess Gonchor (True Grit, Moneyball). Costume Designer: Kasia Walicka-Maimone (Moonrise Kingdom, Moneyball).
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