What I Watched -- Foxcatcher

Foxcatcher is not the movie I expected.  I didn't even know it was based on a true story, although there has been some controversy about that since the movie came out. 

Here's the rundown: Channing Tatum plays Mark Schultz, an Olympic wrestler in need of a patron.  Mark Ruffalo plays his older brother David Schultz, also an Olympic wrestler.  Steve Carrell plays John du Pont, an eccentric millionaire who sponsors the younger brother at his family's estate, Foxcatcher Farms.

As Mark's fame increases, du Pont pours and increasing amount of money into his own training program at Foxcatcher, eventually enticing David to live there as well, to train and coach.  He also became a major sponsor of USA Wrestling.  du Pont's behavior becomes increasingly odd, and (SPOILER ALERT, if you didn't know the true story) he shoots and kills David.  The closing text of the film lets you know that John du Pont died in prison in 2009.

Now, to the controversy.  du Pont was convicted of the murder of David Schultz, and he did die in prison.  There are some historical inaccuracies though.  David was killed in 1996, and the entire movie (including David's death) is set in the 1980s.  This was done so that the film could portray Mark and Dave as living at Foxcatcher concurrently, which does not appear to be the case.

Probably the most contested issue, though, is that of whether a homosexual relationship developed between Mark and du Pont.  I felt like the movie implied that one did, but that point has been vehemently disputed by Mark.  Mark's reaction to the film has been strange though: first he liked it, then he blasted the director, Bennett Miller, for telling lies about him (specifically related to the suggestion of his intimate relationship with du Pont), then he apologized for blasting Bennett Miller.  He is using the film as a tool to sell his book, and his Twitter feed is full of identifications of the inaccuracies in the movie.

Bottom line: there were some excellent performances in this movie, but it is not one I will watch again.  Disturbing.