Foxcatcher | Blogmas Day 14

It's Blogmas Day 14. Hi everyone!

This is certainly not a Christmas film in any sense, so don't watch this thinking that it'll be lighthearted because I put it in Blogmas. Trust me!

The film is a true story about a wrestler called Mark Schultz, who is approached by a man called John du Pont who wants to train him and use him to help form a wrestling team for the Olympics (in 1988). Mark agrees to move in with du Pont so that he can get out of the shadow of his brother Dave Schultz, who is also a wrestler. However, living with du Pont takes it's toll on Mark, who begins to suffer in ways that he doesn't understand. And with du Pont obsessed with getting Dave to join the team, it's clear that things won't end well for this trio of athletes.

This film is insane. I don't know if it was marketed as a psychological thriller but it definitely should have been. Even thinking about it is making me feel a bit weird.

The main reason I watched this film was due to the actors in it, Channing Tatum, Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo, who I all love. Because of that, I went into the film a bit blind, and I'm glad I did because I really was not prepared for anything that happened.

All three main actors did an amazing job with this film. I didn't know the true story before watching it, but I've since read up about it (because it's a really interesting story) and I'm glad that they didn't shy away from the awful aspects of it. Seeing the character of Mark deteriorate as the movie went on was so powerful. He was a character that you were rooting for even though he wasn't necessarily rooting for himself.

Without giving anything away, I have to talk about the ending. If you looked up the story, or you've seen the film, then you'll know what I mean. It was so shocking I still kind of can't believe it. It gave me a physical reaction for sure. I was watching it in the dark at 2am and I gasped out loud and felt really emotional, and even when I've seen the specific scene since then I always jump, because of the way that it was filmed and shot, which is a credit to the filmmakers as well as the actors.

The film is deep, and I can for sure see how it might be traumatising, especially for the people that acted in it. There's so much to unpack and think about that even when it's done you might not fully understand all of the events that happened, or what sparked Mark's deterioration.

I've already said, this was not a lighthearted film, and it doesn't have a happy ending, or many happy moments to be honest. So be prepared for that before you put it on, because it is a drama in the truest sense of the word.

I think it's the kind of film that everyone should see once. It's so interesting, so impactful, and you will find a way to relate it to your own life. However, I don't know if I'll watch it again because it's been at least a month, if not more, since I last saw it and writing this made me feel as if I had only seen it yesterday. I'm actually still not over it.

Have you seen this before? Could you watch it more than once?

It's 11 days until Christmas!

Come back tomorrow for Blogmas day 15!