Damon, Bale come out winners in Mangold’s ’60s racing tale
Let me start this review by telling you that I know squat about car racing. Indy, NASCAR, road racing — they’re all the same to me. But what I do know is quality film, and Ford v Ferrari definitely comes out a winner in that regard. Director James Mangold’s dramatization of the battle between auto titans Ford and Ferrari for dominance at the 1966 Le Mans race is one of the most adrenaline-filled, rousing good times you’ll have at the theater this year.
Based on a true story that seems made for cinematic retelling, Mangold’s picture has no shortage of pulse-pounding, gasp inducing, speed-demon racing shots. But what it also has — and what makes the film pleasing to an audience beyond just racing aficionados — is a terrific story about the competitive spirit of American capitalism at its best (and worst), and a host of complicated, fully realized characters who we instantly like and want to spend time with, despite their flaws.
At the center of the story is the rather personal competition between American Ford Motor Co.’s Henry Ford II (the great Tracy Letts) and Italian Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone), whose Ferrari race cars had long dominated the racing scene. At the time, an American car had never won the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans race. After being both snubbed by Ferrari on a business proposition and then personally insulted (in one of the film’s funniest scenes), Ford II makes it his mission to build a race car to finally beat Ferrari at Le Mans and take the company — and its owner — down a notch.
Ford enlists Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon), a former driver sidelined by heart problems and current car designer whiz to head the new project. Carroll, in turn, recruits the surly British racer-turned-mechanic Ken Miles (Christian Bale), whose instinctual knowledge of cars and unrivaled driving skills make him Carroll’s go-to man for the driving job, despite Ken’s difficult reputation and Ford management’s distrust of him.
Damon and Bale have an easy and believable rapport, which is one of the reasons the film works so well. The respect Ken and Carroll have for each other is palpable, even when they are disagreeing by rolling around on the ground in a no-holds barred fistfight. Just watching the two of them on screen is a pleasure. Damon’s Carroll Shelby, with his laconic, Texas drawl and understated humor contrasts with Bale’s British, working class, rough-around-the-edges Ken Miles. Yet, somehow the pairing works, and Mangold’s film is just as much about friendship and loyalty as it is about the technical aspects of speed and engineering.
If there’s a villain in the piece, it’s Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas), appointed the overall director of Ford’s racing program, who has it out for Ken after chastising Ken and his son Peter (the excellent Noah Jupe, who starred with Damon in 2017’s Suburbicon, and can also be seen in Honey Boy, opening today as well). Without giving too much away, it’s Leo Beebe who makes a call — for publicity purposes of course — that affects Ken, and how the ’66 race ends up for him as he steers Ford’s newly developed GT40 towards the finish line. Mangold creates epic tension here, giving viewers plenty to talk about and ruminate over as they leave the theater.
Of course, in the ‘60s, auto racing was pretty much a man’s world, which means the film is testosterone heavy. The only even mildly meaningful role in the picture for an actress is that of Ken’s wife, Mollie (Caitriona Balfe). Balfe does what she can with what is essentially a worried wife role. “You told me you quit,” Mollie says to Ken when he tells her he’s going back to race, in a line that has been uttered by Worried Wives in every movie ever made about a husband going back to do that One Last Big Dangerous Thing.
But really, Mollie is right to be worried. Racing is inherently dangerous, and, especially in the ‘60s, before so many of the safety measures in place today were around, might not have been the smartest choice for a husband and father. Mangold gives us a glimpse into why men like Ken and Carroll take such risks via a few surprisingly touching scenes between Ken and Peter. What could easily have descended into schmaltz, as Ken and Peter talk about the “perfect lap” at a race track at dusk, actually becomes quite moving in Mangold’s hands, as we see a father sharing his passion with a son who both worships and worries for his brilliant father. You might not think you need Kleenex at a race car movie, but trust me — stuff some in your pocket before you go see this one.
That said, of course, there are plenty of high stakes, adrenaline pumping, expertly filmed racing scenes for the racing junkie, and enough detailed talk about brakes, RPMs, and other intricacies of cars and auto racing to please even the most casual of Car and Driver readers. But Mangold’s real triumph here is not making a film for racing buffs. He’s made a film that all audiences can enjoy, thanks to its tight, well-crafted, and often very funny script (penned by brothers Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth and Jason Keller), and to his stellar cast. Damon does some of his best work here, as he constantly has to balance Carroll’s obligations to his boss and the Ford program with his loyalty to Ken, and with what he inherently knows will make for a winning race. Come January, Damon just might find himself racing to the phone to hear he’s received an Oscar nomination.
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Ford v Ferrari opens today at Bay Area theaters.
