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Wrestling with the truth
Insight
Film Wrestling with the truth
www.thelancet.com/psychiatry Vol 2 March 2015
way. In the film’s most powerful scene, Dave is invited to praise du Pont for a documentary, but struggles to find anything to say. Like other superior sports films, Foxcatcher draws its force from exploring the characteristics of those who submit themselves to the singular pursuit of sporting glory at the highest level. It’s an ambitious work, but doesn’t quite deliver. The dissection of inherited wealth is not particularly subtle, and the film grants its leads only the most basic of psychological backstories. Much is made, for instance, of the approval du Pont craves from his mother. She herself cares little for him, preferring thoroughbred horses and, throughout his childhood, paying another child to be his friend. The final reel is where the film’s biggest disappointment lies. Foxcatcher is “based on a true story”, and some viewers—like me—might arrive at a screening already aware of the story’s ending. The real John du Pont became increasingly erratic and paranoid during the 1990s. Following a crime that is reenacted in Foxcatcher’s finale, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and died in prison in 2010. This film has no interest in addressing this final development, however. Instead, as the conclusion approaches, the timeline is compressed. The viewer is encouraged to regard du Pont’s act as motivated by the jealousy of an inadequate, spoilt man, rather than to ponder the more complex reality. This is a shame; Foxcatcher is, for the most part, a gripping and compelling film. But, ultimately, it has too many flaws to be the classic it sometimes threatens to be.
Published Online January 28, 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S2215-0366(15)00040-1 Foxcatcher Directed by Bennett Miller, 2014. Running time: 129 min
Stephen Ginn
Sony Classics
Even for those of us accustomed to lives of relative comfort, the life of John du Pont as portrayed in the film Foxcatcher is one of incredible luxury. He lives in a vast Pennsylvanian mansion that stands amidst a beautiful valley. Travel is always by helicopter or private jet. Into this world of privilege are drawn brothers Mark and Dave Schultz. Du Pont, heir to an eponymous fortune, is a sports enthusiast and both Mark and Dave are wrestlers with Olympic gold medals. They are offered the chance to join “Team Foxcatcher”, an amateur wrestling team named after du Pont’s estate. Mark accepts, seeing this as a way to continue towards the 1998 Seoul Olympics. Dave passes up the opportunity, unsure of du Pont’s motives and preferring not to uproot his family. The three leads in Foxcatcher, turn in powerful performances. Behind a prosthetic nose and forehead, comedian Steve Carell is unrecognisable as John du Pont. This role could be career changing; there’s not a trace of his usual goofy persona, apparent in hits such as The 40 Year-Old Virgin. He gives du Pont’s every line the languid delivery of a man accustomed to being heeded, irrespective of what he’s saying. Also convincing are Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo as Mark and Dave Schultz. Tatum plays the psychologically fragile Mark Schultz as emotionally illiterate, brooding, and sullen. Beyond wrestling, he seems to have little connection or interest in anything. By contrast, Dave is warmer, with a coaching career and a wife and children. British actress Sienna Miller works well with what she’s given in a small role as Dave’s wife. From a broken and peripatetic family, the Schultz brothers have a strong bond. However, Mark resents the shadow he feels that his brother casts over his own achievements. On joining Team Foxcatcher, Mark sees success at the world championships and a friendship develops between him and du Pont. However, Mark struggles to cope without Dave’s support. At du Pont’s initiation, he becomes a habitual user of cocaine, and the film insinuates that a sexual relationship also takes place. Relations sour between du Pont and Mark, and Dave joins the wresting team. Du Pont has made him an offer generous enough to buy off his initial reluctance. Du Pont is narcissistic and unpredictable, and as the narrative unfolds it becomes clear that he’s also essentially talentless. The distorting effect of his wealth insulates him from insight and consequence. Without embarrassment, he describes himself as a “highly respected ornithologist, author, world explorer, philatelist, philanthropist”. The Schultz brothers are modern-day serfs, forced to humour him to pay their
215
Film Wrestling with the truth
www.thelancet.com/psychiatry Vol 2 March 2015
way. In the film’s most powerful scene, Dave is invited to praise du Pont for a documentary, but struggles to find anything to say. Like other superior sports films, Foxcatcher draws its force from exploring the characteristics of those who submit themselves to the singular pursuit of sporting glory at the highest level. It’s an ambitious work, but doesn’t quite deliver. The dissection of inherited wealth is not particularly subtle, and the film grants its leads only the most basic of psychological backstories. Much is made, for instance, of the approval du Pont craves from his mother. She herself cares little for him, preferring thoroughbred horses and, throughout his childhood, paying another child to be his friend. The final reel is where the film’s biggest disappointment lies. Foxcatcher is “based on a true story”, and some viewers—like me—might arrive at a screening already aware of the story’s ending. The real John du Pont became increasingly erratic and paranoid during the 1990s. Following a crime that is reenacted in Foxcatcher’s finale, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and died in prison in 2010. This film has no interest in addressing this final development, however. Instead, as the conclusion approaches, the timeline is compressed. The viewer is encouraged to regard du Pont’s act as motivated by the jealousy of an inadequate, spoilt man, rather than to ponder the more complex reality. This is a shame; Foxcatcher is, for the most part, a gripping and compelling film. But, ultimately, it has too many flaws to be the classic it sometimes threatens to be.
Published Online January 28, 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S2215-0366(15)00040-1 Foxcatcher Directed by Bennett Miller, 2014. Running time: 129 min
Stephen Ginn
Sony Classics
Even for those of us accustomed to lives of relative comfort, the life of John du Pont as portrayed in the film Foxcatcher is one of incredible luxury. He lives in a vast Pennsylvanian mansion that stands amidst a beautiful valley. Travel is always by helicopter or private jet. Into this world of privilege are drawn brothers Mark and Dave Schultz. Du Pont, heir to an eponymous fortune, is a sports enthusiast and both Mark and Dave are wrestlers with Olympic gold medals. They are offered the chance to join “Team Foxcatcher”, an amateur wrestling team named after du Pont’s estate. Mark accepts, seeing this as a way to continue towards the 1998 Seoul Olympics. Dave passes up the opportunity, unsure of du Pont’s motives and preferring not to uproot his family. The three leads in Foxcatcher, turn in powerful performances. Behind a prosthetic nose and forehead, comedian Steve Carell is unrecognisable as John du Pont. This role could be career changing; there’s not a trace of his usual goofy persona, apparent in hits such as The 40 Year-Old Virgin. He gives du Pont’s every line the languid delivery of a man accustomed to being heeded, irrespective of what he’s saying. Also convincing are Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo as Mark and Dave Schultz. Tatum plays the psychologically fragile Mark Schultz as emotionally illiterate, brooding, and sullen. Beyond wrestling, he seems to have little connection or interest in anything. By contrast, Dave is warmer, with a coaching career and a wife and children. British actress Sienna Miller works well with what she’s given in a small role as Dave’s wife. From a broken and peripatetic family, the Schultz brothers have a strong bond. However, Mark resents the shadow he feels that his brother casts over his own achievements. On joining Team Foxcatcher, Mark sees success at the world championships and a friendship develops between him and du Pont. However, Mark struggles to cope without Dave’s support. At du Pont’s initiation, he becomes a habitual user of cocaine, and the film insinuates that a sexual relationship also takes place. Relations sour between du Pont and Mark, and Dave joins the wresting team. Du Pont has made him an offer generous enough to buy off his initial reluctance. Du Pont is narcissistic and unpredictable, and as the narrative unfolds it becomes clear that he’s also essentially talentless. The distorting effect of his wealth insulates him from insight and consequence. Without embarrassment, he describes himself as a “highly respected ornithologist, author, world explorer, philatelist, philanthropist”. The Schultz brothers are modern-day serfs, forced to humour him to pay their
215