Team Foxcatcher (2016) Documentary Review ****

When I started watching this documentary I wasn’t sure if I liked it, it felt like it took me a while to get into it. The documentary follows the story of John Du Pont the heir to millions of dollars brought up in a lavish life style wish his non-existent father. John Du Pont and his family were described by the wrestling community as the “equivalent of the American royal family”, people wanted to be him; he created a sporting program at his home estate and invested millions of dollars in USA wrestling. At first I thought he had the biggest heart in the world and that maybe he was a bit of a wall flower? Maybe he never fitted in nor out of social groups.

It takes a while to get into the full story and the decline in his mental health, it seemed like people appeased him, they would pay off wrestling matches so he would win and agree with the suspicions he had about people in the fields. Not to mention after the murder the standoff was 48 hours? He should have been shot down within a matter of hours! To me I honestly couldn’t believe that no one around him didn’t help him, they may have tried but they never had an impact. He had criminal investigators checking if there was ghost in the walls? Like seriously, he did have an unhealthy drug addiction that contributed to his state of mind.

The thing I kept thinking when the wrestlers were describing the ludicrous things that he would come out with like bugs in the wood, bugs under his skin, if someone down the local council estate said these things I am sure they would be sectioned. But in defence of all those involved, with money brings power these guys just wanted to wrestle.

John DuPont craved family and belonging. But his greed and power ultimately destroy the lives of all those around them.

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Director:

Jon Greenhalgh

Stars:

Dan Chaid, John du Pont, Dave Schultz