Foxcatcher, the new movie starring Steve Carell, is now out in cinemas. But it was not an easy road getting here. It’s a brand new direction for Carell, who has built a career on his quirky and, let’s be honest, pretty awkward brand of comedy. Now, he plays millionaire John Dupont, the sponsor of brothers and Olympic wrestlers Mark and Dave Schultz.

Steve Carell, Channing Tatum
Steve Carell shines as the antihero in Foxcatcher.

Portraying the Schultz brothers are Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo – so not the typical cast you’d expect to see in a sports drama. But they do a stellar job of portraying the harrowing story of  Dave’s murder, point blanc, by Dupont.

More: The Real Winner of Foxcatcher is Steve Carell

The movie has already earned Bennett Miller the best director award at the Cannes film festival and there is considerable Oscars buzz around Steve Carell’s career-defining performance. Foxcatcher has already been described as ”relentlessly dark and compelling.” Like its characters, the story is one of many faces – there’s madness and the lust for power, there’s rivalry and the need to belong, among a whole spectrum of human faults and failings.

Watch the trailer for Foxcatcher below.

 

Foxcatcher tracks the DuPont’s tense relationship and brief sponsorship of the Schultz brothers some years after their 1988 Olympic win. Tensions would go on to escalate and eventually culminate in Dave’s murder. Now, the full, harrowing story is seeing the light of day for the first time since the press was on the case back in the 90s. Audiences won’t get to see the film until January, but it looks to be well worth the wait.