I don’t remember ever leaving a theatre with a strong feeling of “what the fuck was that?” Honestly, I don’t remember the last time a movie left me so confused. Foxcatcher is somewhat like Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden; it’s like a time bomb, and just like a time bomb it keeps on ticking as time passes, but sadly both Black Hole Sun and Foxcatcher never go boom! Foxcatcher keeps you wondering where the plot is going; it keeps you begging for something to happen. Unfortunately, for me nothing happened while watching Foxcatcher. As I sat reclined in a theater which had a total of 13 people at max (maybe everyone figured out what a bad trip this is/was gonna be) my emotions progressed somewhat like this: excited, happy, waiting for something to happen, confused but hopeful (intermission), meh, MEH, HOLY FUCK! (DAT PLOT), bewildered (full on Dazed and Confused), confused but happy (to finally leave the theatre).
Lemme fill you in on some back-story here, see, each and every movie, according to me, is a different experience. Each movie I watch, go to the theatre for to be more specific, is different from the other, and every time, the experience has to be embraced and shared with someone. After all, it was Bennet Miller’s previous movie Moneyball that made me think ‘How can one not get romantic about movies? If dreams do come true they only do on the silver screen, up in front of your eyes; to sweep you away in their tales of glory, heroes rise and fall and teach us about life’. Sadly, Foxcatcher is really nothing to get romantic about. It’s a brutal kick to your precious balls.
And while I’ve missed a buttload of movies over the past few months (and I turn more and more twisted with each movie I miss) I’ve gotten more and more BROOOTAL. And just the mere fucking fact that I missed Birdman, the same fucking movie I’d predicted would be a game changer to everyone I know. The same fucking movie I’d been planning to go for over a year and guess what? Fuck No! I’m sitting here at home typing this bullshit (in the sense that it’s too late now) review just because I don’t have anything better to do.
(Yes, that’s Steve Carrel on the right)
Honestly, when I saw the trailer for the first time last year, I got scared. Steve Carrel looks like scarier than…well, whatever it is that scares you the most. Chaning Tatum looks aggressive and scary, and not just in your normal steroid OD’d jock sense. Mark Ruffalo…Holy Shit! What the hell happened to that guy from Just Like Heaven??? Well, whatever…having already missed Big Hero 6, Nightcrawler, Selma, Whiplash, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, even BIRDMAN, I had no choice but to go for the one movie I thought would help me (Don’t ask me how. Do you even need to? I’m here sharing my tale of woe and you wanna know why I’m fucking pissed at every fucking thing? FUCK YOU!). And damn, did it help me or what? Because I finally know why most people don’t go to the theatre for movies with Steve Carrel, Channing Tatum or Mark Ruffalo as the lead actors.
I don’t even wanna review the movie. Yes, this is a rant. I loved Moneyball. I love sports movies. I do love true crime stories. But this assault that I’m just not able to understand why is so critically acclaimed is really messing with my head. Maybe I don’t know anything about movies. Or maybe I never actually knew how to write or review movies in the first place. Who gives a fuck about corporate shats, so called brilliant pieces of art?!
Or maybe the stories, the lives being talked about in this movie were never happy. Like most of us maybe the three central characters also led a life of misery, failure and disappointment. Definitely there are signs that show Olympic gold winning wrestlers Mark and Dave Schultz (Tatum and Ruffalo) are close brothers but still somehow distant. John du Pont (Carrel) was clearly nothing more of a recluse, a shut in, who was nothing in his mother’s eyes, eventually drifting into coke and yes he was an “Ornithologist, Philanthropist, Philatelist” (such a sad attempt at giving the audience a memorable dialogue).
As a true crime movie I might like Foxcatcher because it just does that, blandly leads up to all the events that lead to ‘the crime’. As a sad sports movie, I’m sorry there’ve been way better…Million Dollar Baby and The Wrestler to name few of the best. Foxcatcher is definitely a strong movie, because it leaves you feeling lost and confused more than most bullshit that we’re fed nowadays. I don’t know why I went for this movie (maybe because there was nothing else to go for, because I’d already planned Birdman with someone, but surprise!). Steve Carrel has been nominated for the Best Actor and Mark Ruffalo for the Best Supporting Actor for the Academy awards soon to take place. I wish both of them all the very best, this is something really big for them but honestly, I won’t be surprised if they don’t win. Maybe if Foxcatcher had a firm plot, a more determined pace and definitely a tone that Miller’s previous movies have had, it would’ve been actually enjoyable.
Fuck! Valentine’s is around! Time to go sleep!
P.S. Sad Update: Still haven’t seen Birdman.
