DECEMBER 11, 2019
My interest in professional auto racing is approximately zero. So it was with great hesitation that I ventured to see “Ford v Ferrari,” the latest film by James Mangold (“Logan”), a 2 hr. 36 min. epic set entirely in that very world. Swell.
Was I wrong! Mangold has created a smashing entertainment with “Ford v Ferrari,” based on a real-life story about two rival auto manufacturers and their desire to create a car so powerful that it could win the grueling 24 Hours of LeMans race. What I found most surprising and refreshing about the film was that it has the feel of an old big-time studio film that is so expertly done that the crowd walks away happy. (It received a rare A+ CinemaScore from opening weekend audiences.)
The story is simple. It’s 1963. The Ford Motor Company is in the doldrums, thanks to public perception that their cars are square. Ford VP Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) suggests to Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts, terrific) that Ford is missing the youth market that’s looking for something more exciting, that they want a car that says they’re a winner.
Iacocca persuades Ford to buy Ferrari, a company that makes exciting cars (they’ve won the 24 Hours of LeMans race three times) but is a company that is having financial trouble. Enzo Ferrari considers the offer then laughs it off, adding one extra insult to the boss: “You’re not Henry Ford. You’re Henry Ford, the second.” To Henry, this means war. Ford becomes determined that his company will build its own fastest car and that Ford will win LeMans.
To build that Ford racer, the company turns to famed car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon), who in 1959 became the only American ever to win LeMans, so he knows what’s necessary to win that race. Shelby’s only demand in taking the job is that Ford bring on as the car’s driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale), a hot-headed British racer who is now a down-on-his-luck mechanic.
We’ve seen characters like Ken before, the kind about whom people say, “He’s a pain in the ass to work with but, by God, he’s good.” That sort of thing. A character like that is always fun to watch, and Bale seems to be having an absolute ball here as Ken. Predictably, the Ford suits, especially slimy second-in-command Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas at his oiliest), want Ken out as the driver because he doesn’t look like “a Ford man.”
Of course, Ken and Carroll know more about how cars work than the whole Ford crowd put together, and as the bigwigs stomp and fume, Carroll’s team is quietly testing and retesting their Ford racing machine that might…just might…be able to take on the big boys of Ferrari at the 1966 LeMans race.
The film’s screenwriters — Jason Keller and Jez & John-Henry Butterworth — know that what makes the essence of a great sports movie is not the game but the characters in the game. With Carroll, they’ve created a sharp cookie with a big Stetson and a slow Texas drawl. Though his private life is not mentioned — it’s implied that he’s married to his work — Ken, on the other hand, has a rich private life with a strong spouse and a loving son.
Ken’s wife Mollie (Caitriona Balfe) is the perfect woman to take on a loudmouth like Ken. She’s the kind of person who, coming upon a clumsy fistfight between Carroll and her husband across the street, does nothing to try to break it up but instead grabs a folding chair and a magazine to casually watch the action. Perfect. And Ken’s relationship with his son Peter (“Honey Boy’s” Noah Jupe) is one that every father could want, as Ken makes sure to invite Peter into his car each time to take a victory lap.
Still, the real star of “Ford v Ferrari” is Mangold’s direction. The boardroom scenes are crisply cut, and the racing scenes are kinetic. If you’ve never driven a car at 190 mph in the rain, Mangold will put you behind the wheel to show you how terrifying it is and how professional racers can coolly handle it. And the direction of his cast is absolutely impeccable.
Most of all, Mangold has made the most of a scenario that could apply to more than just the auto industry. Let’s see, a corporate behemoth rules an industry where everyone must conform to a certain image and can’t easily handle creative types who want to do something different. Sounds like the movie industry, don’t you think? Are you listening, Disney?
GRADE: B+
