Saw Channing on a rather smug Hollywood reporter round table (pretentious love fest between the annoying chair and Mr Cumberbatch, who was far too up himself and luvvie actOR for my taste) thing and he seems more than a bit monosyllabic (constipated is a bit unkind) off screen too.
After watching the discussion, I wanted MK to win the Oscar gong more than ever, but if he doesn't, then anyone but Benedict, please.
Channing tatum remains constipated from start to finish
Steve gives the best performance but it's not what i class as high standard to be an oscar nominated performance
While Mark Ruffalo, Sienna Miller and Vanessa Redgrave are simply forgettable
I would agree about Tatum, he's a awful actor and is just utterly bland here.
Carrell on the other hand is fantastic, a mesmerising and creepy performance and easily one of the best I've seen.
I had relatively high hopes for this so it's disappointing to report that it didn't really come close to living up to them.
It did have moments that were pretty special but they were too few & far between and it wasn't anywhere near as shocking a tale as I thought it would be (I also wasn't expecting Steve Carell's character to be as weak & pathetic as he was).
That said, this film did more than enough to sustain my interest throughout and performances across the board were very decent.
However as I left the screening with the feeling that I'd just watched something good rather than great 7/10 feels like a fair & appropriate score...
I watched this today. It wasn't as good as I thought it would be, but I'm glad I've seen it. Steve's performance was good, but again, not as good as I was expecting, same with Mark. It was Channing's performance that I was surprised with. I thought he was brilliant.
Firstly, as the Schultz brothers Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum are both tremendous and genuinely convince as siblings. Tatum's inate sadness is perfectly judged, as is Ruffalo's hesitant warmth and concern. They're both the best thing in it by miles. Gongs for both.
Its problems are best expressed by Steve Carell as John du Pont. He's thrown in one of those rather showy, mannered performances that veers perilously close to a party piece. You're too aware of the 'acting' for the role to click into place. It's certainly something to behold, but it works best when applied least, i.e. a tense financial meeting between the du Ponts and Schultz's in which Carell remains mute but you sense hidden gears slowly shifting - the film's one truly great scene.
And like du Pont, the film never much varies in its air of impotent awkwardness (similar to the sort Louis Theroux contrives, as a friend of mine observed). Initially this makes for tense viewing, but it grows tiresome, and feels more like conceit, one that conveniently sidesteps anything more illuminating or openly engaging. And for all the numerous themes it touches on (and boy does it), Foxcatcher never quite knows which to progress with until its headline-making conclusion - a hastily staged tragedy of possible envy that doesn't quite have the impact it should.
Overall, what's here is an overly chilly trip into the darkness of the American Dream - the admonishing wrist-slap American cinema likes to dish out now and then. Within its muted tones and stand-offishness, the homoerotic aspect comes over as subtle as a bodyslam, but it also underlines just how selective the film feels in what it's chosen to show us. Underneath lay the potential for something more - an affecting study of unhappiness perhaps. But like the film as a whole, it remains stillborn. 5.5/10
It's a film that left me cold. I found it to be rather intense and very chilling but i can't deny that it's a masterful film of the highest order told exceptionally well with brilliant performances. Bennett Miller deserves his nomination for directing, just a shame the Academy found it to be too dark and it missed out on Best Picture.
Steve Carrell - wow. Amazing transformation and performance. Creepy.
Channing Tatum - ditto. Not creepy but played the sadness and frustration part down to a tee. In my eyes he should have been nominated for Best Supporting alongside Ruffalo.
Mark Ruffalo - very good. He always is.
Sienna Miller is also in this but you wouldn't know it since she barely says no more than 2 lines. She plays Ruffalo's wife. Let's hope she gets to say a lot more in American Sniper where she plays Bradley Cooper's wife.
I didn't know the story but i could sense some foreboding, that something bad was going to happen at the end. I thought it was Mark Shultz who was going to die, so it was a shock when it turned out to be Dave. That Jon du Pont is one sad, pathetic bastard.
Blimey. Reading this thread has been a revelation. Channing Tatum? I have thought ever since 2002 that she was Jack Bauer's daughter in 24. Now I find it's a bloke. Or has he changed sex? I think we should be told.
Channing Tatum impressed me the most in this movie,which I wasnt expecting at all to be honest!Credit were its due the lad is a lot more than a pretty face and a gorgeous body!He was actually a revelation and I think fading looks in decades to come now wont mean he fades from our screens.
I wouldnt be opposed to Steve Carrell winning the Oscar,he was impressive as an almost tortured emotionally stunted dangerous soul-but I dont think it will happen tbh.
Channing Tatum impressed me the most in this movie,which I wasnt expecting at all to be honest!Credit were its due the lad is a lot more than a pretty face and a gorgeous body!He was actually a revelation and I think fading looks in decades to come now wont mean he fades from our screens.
Anyone that criticised his performance looks pretty foolish and has obviously never seen footage of the real Mark Schultz. He does a great job.
It was good but I couldn't quite remember who Steve Carrell reminded me of in it, then halfway through I realised that it was Mr Burns from the Simpsons. I couldn't take the film seriously after that.
It's a film that left me cold. I found it to be rather intense and very chilling but i can't deny that it's a masterful film of the highest order told exceptionally well with brilliant performances. Bennett Miller deserves his nomination for directing, just a shame the Academy found it to be too dark and it missed out on Best Picture.
Steve Carrell - wow. Amazing transformation and performance. Creepy.
Channing Tatum - ditto. Not creepy but played the sadness and frustration part down to a tee. In my eyes he should have been nominated for Best Supporting alongside Ruffalo.
Mark Ruffalo - very good. He always is.
Sienna Miller is also in this but you wouldn't know it since she barely says no more than 2 lines. She plays Ruffalo's wife. Let's hope she gets to say a lot more in American Sniper where she plays Bradley Cooper's wife.
I didn't know the story but i could sense some foreboding, that something bad was going to happen at the end. I thought it was Mark Shultz who was going to die, so it was a shock when it turned out to be Dave. That Jon du Pont is one sad, pathetic bastard.
Comments
Oh i agree
I'm guessing you've never seen footage of the real Mark Schultz then?
Exactly. Channing's portrayal was completely spot on
After watching the discussion, I wanted MK to win the Oscar gong more than ever, but if he doesn't, then anyone but Benedict, please.
I would agree about Tatum, he's a awful actor and is just utterly bland here.
Carrell on the other hand is fantastic, a mesmerising and creepy performance and easily one of the best I've seen.
It did have moments that were pretty special but they were too few & far between and it wasn't anywhere near as shocking a tale as I thought it would be (I also wasn't expecting Steve Carell's character to be as weak & pathetic as he was).
That said, this film did more than enough to sustain my interest throughout and performances across the board were very decent.
However as I left the screening with the feeling that I'd just watched something good rather than great 7/10 feels like a fair & appropriate score...
Firstly, as the Schultz brothers Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum are both tremendous and genuinely convince as siblings. Tatum's inate sadness is perfectly judged, as is Ruffalo's hesitant warmth and concern. They're both the best thing in it by miles. Gongs for both.
Its problems are best expressed by Steve Carell as John du Pont. He's thrown in one of those rather showy, mannered performances that veers perilously close to a party piece. You're too aware of the 'acting' for the role to click into place. It's certainly something to behold, but it works best when applied least, i.e. a tense financial meeting between the du Ponts and Schultz's in which Carell remains mute but you sense hidden gears slowly shifting - the film's one truly great scene.
And like du Pont, the film never much varies in its air of impotent awkwardness (similar to the sort Louis Theroux contrives, as a friend of mine observed). Initially this makes for tense viewing, but it grows tiresome, and feels more like conceit, one that conveniently sidesteps anything more illuminating or openly engaging. And for all the numerous themes it touches on (and boy does it), Foxcatcher never quite knows which to progress with until its headline-making conclusion - a hastily staged tragedy of possible envy that doesn't quite have the impact it should.
Overall, what's here is an overly chilly trip into the darkness of the American Dream - the admonishing wrist-slap American cinema likes to dish out now and then. Within its muted tones and stand-offishness, the homoerotic aspect comes over as subtle as a bodyslam, but it also underlines just how selective the film feels in what it's chosen to show us. Underneath lay the potential for something more - an affecting study of unhappiness perhaps. But like the film as a whole, it remains stillborn. 5.5/10
Thanks for your review. It was very interesting and insightful.
It's a film that left me cold. I found it to be rather intense and very chilling but i can't deny that it's a masterful film of the highest order told exceptionally well with brilliant performances. Bennett Miller deserves his nomination for directing, just a shame the Academy found it to be too dark and it missed out on Best Picture.
Steve Carrell - wow. Amazing transformation and performance. Creepy.
Channing Tatum - ditto. Not creepy but played the sadness and frustration part down to a tee. In my eyes he should have been nominated for Best Supporting alongside Ruffalo.
Mark Ruffalo - very good. He always is.
Sienna Miller is also in this but you wouldn't know it since she barely says no more than 2 lines. She plays Ruffalo's wife. Let's hope she gets to say a lot more in American Sniper where she plays Bradley Cooper's wife.
I didn't know the story but i could sense some foreboding, that something bad was going to happen at the end. I thought it was Mark Shultz who was going to die, so it was a shock when it turned out to be Dave. That Jon du Pont is one sad, pathetic bastard.
Oh well
it was a good, considered review. i would rather people put thought into what they are writing on here than just making snide comments.
I wouldnt be opposed to Steve Carrell winning the Oscar,he was impressive as an almost tortured emotionally stunted dangerous soul-but I dont think it will happen tbh.
Anyone that criticised his performance looks pretty foolish and has obviously never seen footage of the real Mark Schultz. He does a great job.
Spoilers? Nah, thanks dick