One of the most highly-anticipated films of the upcoming Awards Season is the true-life wrestling drama “Foxcatcher” (out Nov. 14). Directed by Bennett Miller (“Capote”, “Moneyball”), “Foxcatcher” was supposed to be released last December (for 2013 awards consideration), but Sony Pictures Classics decided to hold it back an entire year.
Speculation was that Miller wasn’t finished with the film in time for it’s original release date, though buzz was still very strong. Well, “Foxcatcher” was screened this week at the Cannes Film Festival and the reviews have been nothing short of spectacular, particularly for star Steve Carell, who plays Olympic wrestling coach John du Pont. Last fall, based on all the buzz and a 60-second teaser trailer, I predicted that Carell would score an Oscar nomination for his work. Now, with the reaction coming from Cannes, it’s time to officially repeat that prediction. If Carell’s performance is as raw and transformative as we’re hearing – he’s an absolute lock.
The debate is whether Carell be up for the Lead or Supporting Actor category? Even though Carell receives top-billing, Channing Tatum gets the most screen time in the movie. Will SPC play it safe and go the lead route or take a bit of a risk and push Carell for a dominating supporting performance? That decision likely won’t be made until at least mid-November.
On the other side of the Cannes coin is “Grace of Monaco”. The Grace Kelly biopic starring Nicole Kidman was also shelved for a year (by The Weinstein Co.), but unfortunately for a different and not surprising reason: Terrible buzz and reviews from Cannes confirming that it simply isn’t very good.
Also screened at the festival, but not in competition: “How to Train Your Dragon 2”. Some think the DreamWorks animated adventure will be the highest-grossing movie of the Summer. However, can it be a better film than the wildly impressive 2010 original? If it truly is “The mother of all animated sequels”, as the Variety review from Cannes claims, I’ll be both stunned and over-joyed.