Tuesday
Dec232014
Podcast: Wild Catcher
Tuesday, December 23, 2014 at 3:39PM 
In this new episode of The Film Experience, Nick, Joe, and Nathaniel go wandering with Witherspoon and wrestling with Tatum to try to make sense of it all. And by 'all' we mean the directorial styles of Jean-Marc Vallée and Bennett Miller, our complicated and divided personal reactions to the films and the performances, and a light sprinkling of Oscar talk.
Breakdown
00:01-15:32 Wild
15:33-41:57 Foxcatcher
Recommended Supplemental Material:
"The Making of Foxcatcher" - by Mark Harris
You can listen at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversation in the comments.
Reader Comments (8)
Interesting to see such different opinions on Foxcatcher. The only thing I liked after the movie was over was Ruffalo's vulnerability and ability to create a real character regardless of Miller's style (great point by Nathaniel that the most effective way to play a role in a movie from a director that is so set in their personal styles - Tarantino, Anderson, Allen, etc - is to counterbalance that style - with more truthfulness and less style, I believe). In that sense both Carell and Tatum fail in my opinion for opposing reasons. Carell for matching the tone and Tatum for not creating anything beyond what was in the scrip as Nick pointed out (also totally agree with Joe about the mirror scene - such a desperate attempt to do SOMETHING acting-wise - it didn't even feel warranted or justified). In the end, it was a very frustrating experience that Redgrave was in it for 2 minutes and that was exactly what I personally wanted to see the most - the reason to why Carell's character was mentally ill in all its specificities, which are suggested to stem from their relationship. Foxcatcher made me roll my eyes (when Bowie's "Fame" plays when Ruffalo wins a tournament) and get angry (spoilers) when Redgrave's character dies and I realized that was it (end of spoilers). It's a slow burner movie that never burns.
I saw Foxcatcher for the second time early today, because I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Bennet Miller’s two previous films- Truman and Moneyball. So I gave it a benefit of the doubt and went to see it again after not really enjoying it the first time around: I walked away raving about Ruffalo and thought Channing Tatum was fine. I gained more appreciation for Channing Tatum’s performance, Miller’s direction, the screenplay, the mood, the eerie silence that haunts the movie… everything I ended up loving much more with the exception of Steve Carell’s performance. After seeing it the second time around, I have come into conclusion that Carell’s overtly creepy characterization of John Dupont almost ruined the movie. What could have been a powerful portrayal of a man who has lived a very sad life became the Steve Carell “Creep Show.” It was borderline one-dimensional, and almost, but not quite as bad as Stanley Tucci’s performance in Lovely Bones.
I LOVED Foxcatcher. Such a different, unique experience. I found it so fascinating and like I was trapped in this weird world for over two hours, in a good way. And I loved that it allowed the viewer to observe, mainly the characters and allowed the characters to exist. Unlike Wild which is one of the most grossly expositional films I have seen this year where every single feeling and thought is bombarded in every way and style. Foxcatcher lets the breathing happen while being a suffocating movie and I LOVED that. Miller is a genius director, IMO.
*I mean "when Tatum's character wins a tournament", not Ruffalo's.
"Foxcatcher made me roll my eyes (when Bowie's "Fame" plays when Ruffalo wins a tournament)..."
This *would* have been groan-worthy, but the song is actually diegetic: if you recall, du Pont plays it on his boom box, which is actually brilliant and a succinct way of revealing part of his character.
"This Land is Your Land," however, was perhaps a bit on-the-nose.
That is true. He played the song on his boom box, so maybe that is the most interesting thing about that character(as it was played): the fact he likes Bowie, which is sadly far from enough to make me warm up to him or understand him.
I'm not sure if that's sarcasm or not, but I meant the fact that he would even put that tune on as he celebrated and popped champagne says a lot about his delusions of grandeur and general gaucheness. It's like Trump walking around NYC blasting the song through his earbuds. Grossly self-congratulatory and basically pathetic.
good article