Foxcatcher - Weird and Imbalanced

"Foxcatcher" is already one of the big winners at this year's Academy Awards with five nominations. With two for male acting (lead and supporting), one for directing, one for writing, and one for make-up it's managed get in on four of the biggest categories of the evening. But does it deserve it?

I didn't know what to make of it the first time I saw the trailer for "Foxcatcher". I thought it looked like one of those films you'd see characters in other films watch on television. It seemed bizarre, odd, weird, and extremely American. Perhaps that is what put me off the most, maybe it is so American that I don't quite have a handle on the references and cultural acknowledgements that the film presumes I have. Because honestly, I did not think this film really deserved any of its nominations, it shouldn't even be a film worth mentioning in those contexts.

Maybe I was a bit harsh there, I do think Mark Ruffalo did a great job, I can see why he is nominated for supporting actor. And the makeup and hairstyling is pretty on-point as well. But nominations for Carell for lead actor? Was he even the lead actor in this film? I sure don't think so. He did a mediocre job at best portraying a weird and off-putting character, I felt Channing Tatum did a better job with what he was given than Carell, but he's not amazing either.

The film, as many others lately, is also too long. With a run time of 134 minutes you'd expect either a lot of fast paced action, or a lot of interesting character work. We get neither. The first 90-ish minutes go by pretty fast, but then you learn that all of that was basically just the set-up for a slow paced last forty minutes. There is nothing wrong with having a film last a hundred minutes or less, even for biopics and character pieces.

The story itself I feel there's little to comment on. I understand it's "based on true events", how much is true and what is fiction I do not know, but I don't think all of it works. The premise is certainly interesting. I have a soft spot for sport films that showcase sports that don't normally get films made about them. And having the characters be weird can be an added bonus, but only if you play it off well.

This film could have been a great Wes Anderson-esque picture, but instead it falls flat with little inspiration. It struggles to figure out just how comedic it is, and just how dramatic it is, never managing to find that sweet spot. It's almost a make-your-own-genre type of film. If you think it's a comedy it suddenly seems rather funny, if you think it's a drama it seems kind of scary and emotional. But it's not quite well crafted enough to fully be either.