Catch ‘Foxcatcher’ in Theaters Nov. 14

Ani Mikaelian

The true story of Olympic gold medalist Mark Schultz can be viewed on the big screen in “Foxcatcher” on Nov. 14. Directed by Oscar-nominee Bennett Miller and written by Dan Futterman andE. Max Frye, the three join forces with “Foxcatcher” to entice audiences with a fair balance of crime and drama.

The biopic tells the story of Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz, played by Channing Tatum, who teams up with Coach John Du Pont, played by Steve Carell. Mark Ruffalo plays the role of Dave Schultz, Mark’s brother, and Sienna Miller takes on the role of Dave’s wife, Nancy Schultz. The focus of the film is the relationship between Schultz and du Pont, from its initial point of contact to the untimely end.

The story, that has circled throughout the media and recently was in Schultz’s autobiography, takes place is 1984 as the Schultz brothers gained fame by scoring their World, Olympic and NCAA titles. Mark’s sponsor, John du Pont, ended up murdering Dave in 1996; 12 years after the brothers had initially won the Olympic Gold for freestyle wrestling.

Both leads, Tatum and Carell, have a prominent past in comedy, which presents an acceptable challenge for the pair. Nevertheless, both performances have been deemed quite highly. Ramin Setoodeh of Variety praised it by saying, “he gives a transformative career-defining performance,” of the unrecognizable Carell. Tatum himself “delivers a revelatory and intense turn,” states Nigel Smith of Indiewire.

A handful of teasers and trailers have been released throughout the year to promote the mystery behind the true story and the images are compelling in their own way. In one of them, Tatum can be seen headbutting a mirror three times. Tatum stated that the biopic was “the hardest acting challenge I’ve had to date.”

Sure to be a contender for the Oscars, filmmaker Bennett Miller already won the award for Best Director when the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this past May. The real Mark Schultz himself contributed to the film as a producer and even makes a cameo as “Weigh-in Official #1.”

‘Foxcatcher’ hits theaters Nov. 14.