How much of the chilling movie about an heir to one of the wealthiest families in America and the wrestler brothers he took under his wing is based in reality? Warning: ALL OF THE SPOILERS AHEAD!
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Foxcatcher tells the story of Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum). In the midst of his training for the next Olympics, Mark is approached by a member of one of the wealthiest families in America, John du Pont (Steve Carell). Du Pont, a middle-aged man still living at home (read: a massive compound) with his elderly mother (Vanessa Redgrave), is fascinated by wrestling. He lures Mark — and eventually his older and more successful brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo) — to his estate by offering what seems like a lot of money and state-of-the-art facilities. Though du Pont provides Mark with everything one would need to prepare for competition, his odd behavior, which becomes increasingly more dangerous as the film progresses, begins to destroy Mark's mental and emotional state.
And while the shocking ending seems like something fabricated for the screen, Foxcatcher is actually biographical. Here is a breakdown of how the film recreated the Schultzes' story and where it rewrote history. Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD!
The du Pont estate was practically recreated for the movie.
In 1919, Jean du Pont (nee Austin) — played by Vanessa Redgrave in the film — married William du Pont Jr., the great-grandson of E.I. du Pont, who founded the family gunpowder manufacturing business, which is worth approximately $15 billion today. As a wedding gift from the bride's father, the couple received 600 acres of land in Pennsylvania, as well as a a white house, meant to look like President James Madison's home, on the property from the groom's father. John du Pont was the youngest of the couple's four children.
When Mark Schultz first arrived in Pennsylvania, he was told the grandiose home, or "the big house," as it is referred to in the film, was off-limits unless he received an invitation. Though the actual estate was not used in the film, nearly the entire movie was shot in Pennsylvania and made to mirror the real land.
Scott Garfield/Sony Classics
Jean du Pont was really obsessed with horses.
In the film, Mrs. du Pont's horses are the most important thing on the family property, and in real life, the woman was as serious about the animals as the movie conveys. The real Mrs. du Pont rode competitively from the time she was a little girl, earning more than 32,000 ribbons. And bred horses on her property that she tended to daily.
Though Redgrave only appears as Jean du Pont in a few scenes, she is either grooming her horses or talking about them. There is even a trophy room — which her son tries desperately to get a wrestling ribbon into — dedicated to her success on the saddle.
Scott Garfield/Sony Classics
