Ford vs Ferrari (2019)
Directed by James Mangold
Written by Jez Butterworth, John Henry Butterworth, Jason Keller
Starring Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Jon Bernthal, Tracy Letts
Release Date November 15th, 2019
Published November 14th, 2019
Ford vs Ferrari is a triumph. This film about racing cars has the feel of a Hollywood, mainstream epic. The racing feels like a massive event and is filmed with urgency, suspense and excitement while also being based on actual events. I imagine even those who know about Carroll Shelby, Ken Miles and Ford will nevertheless find themselves at the end of their seat while watching this incredible action unfold.
Ford vs Ferrari stars Matt Damon as legendary car engineer Carroll Shelby. While history views Shelby as a legendary success story, prior to his triumph with Ford and LeMans, Shelby was struggling, selling the same Shelby Cobra to three different buyers just to keep the lights while he schemed to make more money to race with. Shelby was rescued by Ford and a young, up and coming executive named Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal).
Iacocca tapped Carroll Shelby to create the Ford racing team after Ford’s failed attempt at purchasing the legendary Ferrari company. The Ford racing team was born out of spite and Henry Ford Jr’s (Tracy Letts) desire to stick it to Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone). So, Ford hired Shelby to build him a car that can win at the legendary Grand Prix of LeMans, a 24 hour endurance race that Ferrari has dominated for years.
For his part, Shelby sought out his old friend and go-to race driver, Ken Miles (Christian Bale). A mechanic and former soldier, Ken Miles has a unique, almost surreal ability to tune into what is missing from a race car. When Shelby approached Ken Miles, Ken was flat broke and retired from racing. Shelby entices him back behind the wheel despite Ken’s very reasonable mistrust of Ford executives he knows won’t be able to resist butting in.
The lead butt is Ford Executive Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas), a composite character who stands in for the myopic Ford executives who were more concerned with image than with winning or building the best car. Beebe makes a big deal about how Ken Miles isn’t a ‘Ford Man,’ whatever that means and his pigheadedness costs Ford their first chance at LeMans, though he’s able to blame it on Shelby enough that he keeps his job.
Once Ken Miles is actually allowed behind the wheel, Ford vs Ferrari kicks into another sensational gear. Christian Bale is an electrifying presence in Ford vs Ferrari. Bale delivers a full-bodied performance as Miles, he lives this man’s life and makes you believe it through the sheer force of charisma and grit. Bale’s Ken Miles is relentless, hard headed, intuitive and funny. He’s wiry with a bad haircut but ingenious in so many other ways. This is one of Bale’s finest performances.
Matt Damon’s performance has fewer fireworks than Bale’s but he’s just as effective in his way. Much as Carroll Shelby facilitated Ken Miles in getting him behind the wheel and a shot at winning LeMans, Damon’s performance is perfectly calibrated to give Bale the spotlight, to tee up his performance so Bale could knock it out of the park. Shelby appears to fade into the background slightly in the middle of the second act but it’s fully calculated, the intention is specifically to give us more time to invest in Miles and his status as an underdog against the massive Ford machine.
One of my misgivings going into Ford vs Ferrari was whether or not the movie intended to play the Ford Motor Company as cheerful underdog, upstarts. I could not have accepted that Ford played the good guys who overcame the odds against those dastardly Italians from Ferrari. The title might lead you in that direction as well but the reality of Ford vs Ferrari is that is actually Shelby and Miles vs Ford vs Ferrari.
Director James Mangold, working from a script by Jez Butterworth, John Henry Buttetworth and Jason Keller, brings a singular vision to Ford vs Ferrari that helps the movie transcend its mainstream, Hollywood roots. Don’t misunderstand, this is still the mainstream, Hollywood, blockbuster, sports movie you think it is, but Mangold is unquestionably the captain of this ship and he demonstrates masterly control over the pace and tone of Ford vs Ferrari.
Mangold directs with the confidence of a filmmaker who knows he has an epic story to tell even if everyone else might be skeptical of a racing movie. Racing movies haven’t exactly blown up the box office in recent years. Only Pixar has really ever managed to strike gold with a racing movie but even Cars has its detractors.Regardless, Mangold knows there is more here than just a racing story and his superb confidence radiates off the screen.
Mangold is aided greatly by a sharp tongued script, brilliantly crisp cinematography by Academy Award nominee Phedon Papamichael, and to die for production design and costumes. The period detail is outstanding, especially in the costumes which are both of the time of the movie, the mid to late 1960’s, but also still look cool. The jackets alone in Ford vs Ferrari are worth the price of admission.
Ford vs Ferrari is some of the most fun and excitement that I have experienced at the movies this year. Not only is it an entertaining blockbuster, Ford vs Ferrari has the gravitas, artistry and storytelling that earns Academy Awards. Ford vs Ferrari belongs in the Best Picture conversation and Christian Bale should be standing shoulder to shoulder with Adam Driver (Marriage Story) and Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) in the Best Actor race.
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