Review - Foxcatcher

If you're a fan of the sport of wrestling, you may be familiar with the story of the Schultz brothers, a pair of Olympic champs who caught the eye of a millionaire philanthropist following the '84 L.A. Olympics.

But you needn't be a wrestling buff to appreciate this stranger-than-fiction true story, brilliantly dramatized by Cannes prize winner Bennett Miller in Foxcatcher. Just like his swell previous feature Moneyball, what Miller has achieved here is a sports movie that's not actually about the sport, but about something far bigger and more elusive. Incidentally, like Moneyball was in 2011, Foxcatcher is also one of the finest films of the year.

Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) is obsessed with being the best, but doomed to never feel like the best. Even his Olympic gold medal seems outshone by that of his older brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo), whose personal life is far more fulfilled.

Dave is more famous, a better wrestler/coach, a happy family man, and still quietly exudes his protective instincts towards his baby bro. A beautifully staged sparring sequence early in the film between the two brothers tells us everything we need to know about their relationship with hardly a single word of dialogue.

One Category at a Time: Best Supporting Actress

I'll admit to feeling kinda proud (and/or lucky) of nailing three of last year's five Best Supporting Actress nominees from a year out, especially going out on a limb for a young actress no one had ever heard of before named Hailee Steinfeld. Let's see if I can repeat the feat.

One contender who's already had her name bandied about as a nominee at next year's Oscars is the legendary Vanessa Redgrave for her turn as Volumnia in Ralph Feinnes modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's little-seen Coriolanus. Redgrave has six career nominations going all the way back to 1967 and one win for Julia in 1977, but has not been nominated since Howards End (1992). As a respected veteran and master of her craft, a juicy supporting role might be just what she needs to reenter Oscar's graces.

George Clooney's political drama The Ides of March features a stacked ensemble with potential for multiple acting nominations. The most notable female presence is Marisa Tomei, who, after receiving years of flack following her surprise Oscar win for My Cousin Vinny, has done a great job of keeping her career fresh and interesting by taking on challenging and varied roles that have subsequently earned her another two nominations. Might she stand out in a strongly male-dominated cast?

How about representation from a strongly female-dominated cast? The Help features an eclectic and promising one, not to mention potential as lite Best Picture appeal. I'm taking my chances on Viola Davis, who broke out onto the big screen with a nomination two years ago for Doubt. She plays a black servant in 1960s Mississippi who makes an unlikely friendship with young white college grad.

An ingenue who you might argue is due for a nomination is Scarlet Johansson. She costars alongside Matt Damon in We Bought a Zoo, Cameron Crowe's first narrative feature in six years, as the wife of a man who uproots his family so that they can revive an old zoo. Crowe has always written good supporting parts for actresses, so here's hoping Johansson will do well by him.

One actress who's poised to explode in a big way this year is Jessica Chastain, starring in no less than six films, including the aforementioned Coriolanus and The Help. But the one most people are excited about is Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life. Will she be nominated for this, or for something else? Maybe for Take Shelter or The Fields? Or maybe not at all? Her name should be pretty ubiquitous this year, and that's always an advantage to staying in the awards discussion.

Predicted five:
Viola Davis, The Help
Vanessa Redgrave, Coriolanus or The Whistleblower
Jessica Chastain, The Tree of Life or Take Shelter or The Help
Marisa Tomei, The Ides of March
Scarlet Johansson, We Bought a Zoo