Foxcatcher (2014) & The Drop (2014)

Both these films rely on the slow burn. The audience knows something explosive is going to happen, but what? and when? we wonder.

In the case of The Drop (2014), the payoff is unexpected and delightful, though perhaps not entirely believable. Still, it works, in no small part due to Tom Hardy who, because of an apparent shortage of American actors, had to step in and take the role.

Foxcatcher (2014) has the slow part of slow burn down. Steve Carell is appropriately creepy playing whoever he played, but the payoff falls flat. The problem can't be Mark Ruffalo, who is as cuddleable as ever. Maybe it's Channing Tatum, who Alan Smithee usually finds adequate, but who doesn't bring much to this role. But it feels more like a problem at the conceptual level.

If you're considering viewing Foxcatcher, Alan Smithee recommends you not. If you haven't been interested in The Drop, he recommends you get interested.