Acclaimed Filmmaker Bennett Miller (Capote) brings the true story of two championship wrestlers that are recruited by eccentric multimillionaire John du Pont to coach and lead a team of contenders who seek the mutual dream of Olympic Gold, but ultimately the vision of a world class wrestling training facility at John du Pont's Foxcatcher estate becomes a tragedy of misguided loyalty, broken hearts and ruined hopes in a film that yields repeat viewing to fully appreciate the nuanced performances and screen direction.
Steve Carrell is all but unrecognizable in the makeup and body language he assumes not to become literally a dead on impression of John du Pont because if you see photos of the real man, you will notice some physical differences. What Carrell does is capture an essence of the man, but only people who knew the real John du Pont can access how close Carrell's characterization matches the man. In fact it is only when Carrell speaks that one can definitely tell it is him under the makeup. However considering this is arguably the most serious and darkest film he has ever starred in, I think Carrell deserves the acclaim he has gotten. It definitely shows his great potential as an actor beyond his comedic work.
Both Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum deliver stellar performances. One can feel both the brotherly love and emotional damage both men share and while actions that occur in the film yield specific consequences that cannot be undone, I felt the film presented all three characters as portrayed by their respective actors as victims of their upbringing despite the perceived class differences. In the end the strength of the film lies in the characters and how the Director presents them. Foxcatcher is about three men who ultimately reach beyond what they emotionally can hold on to and as a result it leads to broken wishes and great loss for all.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment presents Foxcatcher on DVD in an anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratio that preserves the manner in which the film was exhibited theatrically as close as possible for home video users. This is a muted and downright dark film, but the standard definition detail holds up nicely even when upconverted to 1080p HD via HDMI.
Atmospheric English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound is provided along with an English Descriptive Audio Track and a French Soundtrack option as well. There are also English Subtitles for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired along English, French and Spanish Language Subtitle choices too.
Bonus features include a behind-the-scenes featurette (16:20), two deleted scenes that can be viewed individually or via a Play All feature (5:08), the original theatrical trailer (2:22) and a reel of previews (6:32). The interactive menus are well rendered and easy to navigate. A coupon for a limited time redeemable only free Ultraviolet Digital Copy is also included on an insert within the DVD keep case.
Foxcatcher is available now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Sony Picture Home Entertainment.
(C) Copyright 2015 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
