FORD V FERRARI: A Funny, Heartwarming, Adrenaline-Pumping and Testosterone-Fuelled Joy Ride

Genre: Action, Biography, Drama

Produced by: James Mangold, Jenno Topping, Peter Chernin     

Directed by: James Mangold  

Written by: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, Jason Keller  

Production Company: 20^th Century Fox  
Starring: Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Ray McKinnon, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Remo Girone   

Runtime: 152 minutes  

SYNOPSIS: 

Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) teams up with Ken Miles (Christian Bale) when they are hired by Ford to help them build a car capable of challenging its fiercest competitor Ferrari’s dominance in time for the Le Mans ‘66 race. And the pair soon learns that what they’re doing is something much easier said than done. Overcoming corporate intrusion, technical deficiencies and even their own ego might be necessary if they are to etch their names on the record books. 

REVIEW: 

In a sport that’s historically no stranger to rivalries, the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France served as the backdrop for a true story of a racing rivalry unlike any other. It’s one of the rare occasions where the men behind the wheel play second fiddle to the actual major stars: the men assembling them in the first place. 

If anything, the 1966 Le Mans race stood out from the other editions due to a much-publicized bad blood between American automaker Henry Ford II representing Ford Motor Company and his Italian arch-nemesis Enzo Ferrari representing Ferrari that began when Ferrari said no to Ford II’s offer to buy the former’s then-cash strapped company. And it would then spark a seemingly eternal battle of corporate one-upmanship between the two automotive juggernauts, one they’re still fighting even to this day. It’s not as heated as before considering the recent emergence of many other automotive juggernauts stealing their thunder, but still, the impact of that particular past rivalry still feels fresh in people’s minds. Thankfully, the story has been immortalized through a book Go Like Hell (2009) and a documentary the 24 Hour War (2016). 

Three years after the Nate Adams and Adam Carolla-directed documentary, it’s journeyman director James Mangold’s turn to retell the classic story, only with the proper Hollywood treatment this time around, titled Ford v Ferrari. It’s a project that piqued the interest of many A-list stars, with names like Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt onboard at one point in its production before they made way for another A-list pairings in Matt Damon and Christian Bale. For all the star power, Ford v Ferrari remains a risky roll of the dice. It’s a $100 million project, pretty big for a financially hit-and-miss genre: biopic. The UK was even forced to rename the film Le Mans ’66, which further shows the story’s lack of mass appeal. 

 

Ford v Ferrari is an assuredly effervescent and full-throttle racing romp that’s the perfect hybrid of prestige picture and sheer popcorn pleasure, thanks to Mangold’s zestful direction and a shrewd, savvy script by Jason Keller, Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth. It’s a film with a lot of style and also more than enough substance to keep things interesting. It’s quite an entertaining biopic and a timely history lesson in equal measures, told in the most profound but approachable way. Ford v Ferrari is at its very best when it splendidly captures the spirit and essence of the racing world in America during the 60’s. 

For that matter, the film feels like a welcome throwback to the sort of old-school entertainment modern-day Hollywood doesn’t make all too often. Mangold’s filmmaking style here is so deeply entrenched in the rich, colorful tradition of the 1960 era’s feelgood, crowd-pleasing auto-racing features such as Grand Prix (1966) and the Love Bug (1969). 

Ford v Ferrari packs plenty of the same thrilling, exciting racing set-pieces. Its recreation of the Le Mans 66’ race alone is hands down one of the finest from this particular genre in recent years ever since Rush (2013): a well-crafted mixture of gritty realism and grandiose sweep that succeeds in transforming the hustle and bustle of racetrack action into a full-blown epic. 

And it’s all photographed with visceral clarity and imagination by cinematographer Phedon Papamichael, Mangold’s frequent collaborator. Unlike most modern-day action film cinematographers, Papamichael thankfully lets his action play out in lengthy wide shots which allows the audience to soak in and appreciate the brilliantly-choreographed stunt driving. Every car chase and crash smoothly moves, seemingly in one fluid, synchronous motion as if the events that are portrayed onscreen are real. Michael McCusker and Andrew Buckland’s tight editing keep the momentum going, intercutting from the sprawling expanse of the racetrack to the confined spaces of the driver’s cockpit to build up tension. Jay Wilkinson’s sound work is nothing short of impeccable, with every burst of squealing tires and revving engines fine-tuned to painstakingly detailed perfection. 

Ford v. Ferrari’s strongest asset though remains the unexpectedly humane interpretation of its subject matter, which lends the narrative a considerable amount of emotional weight that transcends its product placement-laden title. And the script expertly finds a compelling angle to its business-heavy real-life story by retelling it as a classic and straightforward yet pleasant and inspiring underdog sports drama in the vein of Rocky (1976). It’s a film not only for die-hard racing fans, but also for those viewers who are uninitiated to the sport in the sense that it rightly centers its narrative more on the personalities than the machine, their hopes and dreams and how all of those things can help get them one step forward and even two steps back. 

Here is a film about a racing rivalry that mostly sidesteps the genre trappings and turns its headline battle between automotive juggernauts into a tale of friendship between American car designer Carroll Shelby and British racecar driver Ken Miles. And the way these characters epitomize the anti-establishment mentality in the midst of corporate soullessness makes much of the source material’s credibility as an underdog story feel justified on the silver screen. Borrowing the buddy cop formula, Ford v Ferrari succeeds in putting a fun spin on a true-life friendship story. Shelby slips snugly into the calm, straight man role and Miles is the quintessential foil in the loose cannon role, creating a dynamic duo that is well supported by funny dialogues (one exchange where the pair compares racing to a beauty pageant in particular is the film’s crème de la crème comedy-wise). 

But the relationship runs even deeper in a mentor-apprentice type of fashion, casting some sweetness and tenderness to their hijinks. Shelby goes through an important redemption arc that adds layers to his character. He starts off the film in a flashback sequence as a hotshot driver forced into early retirement due to an injury partially caused by his ego and when he first meets Miles, he sees so much of himself in him that it compels him to take Miles under his wing, with the belief that making Miles avoid the same mistake he’s made would give him a sense of self-fulfillment. 

Ford v Ferrari dips its toes into father-son bonding territory too, gracefully so. What emerges from its treatment of Miles’ relationship with his son Peter (Noah Jupe) is an endearing, refreshingly optimistic family portrait that upends the public’s general assumption of how a story about a workaholic father and his child is presented onscreen. Miles is characterized as an exemplary workaholic father figure, ever-present in his child’s life. In almost every scene when Miles is at work, Peter is always there. One heartwarming scene in a tarmac even shows Miles teaching Peter a thing or two about mechanics and relating it with life philosophy. And Peter is equally exemplary as the child, very perceptive and understanding about his father’s passion with his work even if that means spending less time with him. Their sincere relationship makes the poignant period all the more heartbreaking. There is a scene when Miles is involved in an accident during a test run, and it feels emotionally resonant because, rather than focus on the accident, Mangold’s camera lingers on Peter’s terrified expression, one of a child dealing with the horror of his father possibly dying in front of his very eyes. 

But Ford v Ferrari is just as political as it is personal, using Ford’s internal struggles to provide an incisive, slap-to-the-face commentary on the corporate evil often giving its working-class heroes a hard time. The film takes some artistic license with its historical figures, most notably by portraying Ford executive Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas) in negative light, as if he’s the story’s true villain, not Ferrari. It’s a controversial creative choice no doubt but it works wonders in raising the stakes for its working-class heroes’ already near-impossible plight. Much of the tension is derived from Beebe’s personal agenda against its heroes, particularly Miles and the cathartic release whenever they prove Beebe wrong.  

Everything comes together in a compelling third act that subverts the standard happily ever after biopic third act and indulges in it at the same time. Anyone who is familiar with the outcome of the Le Mans 66’ race would know roughly where Ford v Ferrari is heading, but the script manages to dramatize the real-life event in such a refined, insightful way it stays true to how the story unfolded in real life while still packing all the dramatic sucker punch required for an effective heart-tugging sports parable. Without going into too much detail, Ford v Ferrari ends on a bittersweet note, leaving its audience with a big smile on their faces and also some food for thought. 

On the surface, it’s certainly a tough pill to swallow, one engineered to provoke strong reactions and to that end, it works as a ringing reminder of the profound, potentially costly misunderstandings of the true meaning of a sport between the athletes and business people, something that these two parties cannot reconcile in real life, even to this day. On an emotional level, the ending instead brings a fittingly cathartic closure to Ken Miles’ transformational arc, and Mangold makes terrific use of the visual language to represent the character’s gradual change of heart. There’s a scene in which Miles is driving along the racetrack all alone when he suddenly experiences an epiphany of sort, and simply said, it’s a breathtaking moment in meditative, quasi-silent storytelling, proving that images speak louder than words. 

But Ford v Ferrari can sometimes feel bogged down with its routine exploration of the titular rivalry.

As far as pacing goes, it is ironically slow to start. Much of its first act especially struggles to find some dramatic interest in the business aspect of the story. The corporate back-and-forth between the Ford executives are bland, even laborious to go through, where all the script does is have them throw around a bunch of technical jargons in such an indigestible manner. And the very few narrative variations don’t do these scenes any favor either as the film is stuck in repetitive loops of board meetings and paperwork signing. 

And it might perhaps have far too many side characters for its own good, all of whom are undoubtedly important in the real life story, but lightweights in this film adaptation. Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) holds a key role in Ford’s 1966 success, but the script instead makes the character seem like a mere afterthought, no different to an indistinct Ford executive. He is given very little to do, and it becomes pretty apparent when the main plot kicks into motion. Iacocca is merely used as means of plot device to get Shelby and Miles to Ford, and once that’s done, he’s mostly out of the picture save for a couple intermittent appearances. 

The film also sets up its big bad Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone) in an equally superficial way as these faceless executives that it ends up sapping the story’s central conflict of its impact. Ferrari here comes across as forgettable, disposable and because of that, he never quite make his presence felt as the sort of juggernaut to be reckoned with, despite his surname’s inclusion in the title. 

But the script’s all-American, heavily one-sided narrative approach to the source material constantly works against the Enzo Ferrari character himself. Keller and the Butterworth Brothers’ script have the kind of biopic storytelling that only allows the bad guy to be nothing but a two-dimensional, sketchily-drawn caricature. For one, Ferrari is barely in the film, reduced to being a spectral figure so invisibly spectral the protagonists even have to mention his name time and time again to remind the audience of his status as this story’s villain.  Furthermore, when the Italian is actually on screen, the character is hardly fleshed out at all. There is a Ford executive’s throwaway line of dialogue about Ferrari’s dire financial condition, and that’s the extent of his characterization. Because of that, this storyline never quite has the level of high stake and tension it should have had. 

But these flaws are just small nitpicks in an otherwise superbly-acted award season confection starring none other than recurring award season acting favorites such as Matt Damon and Christian Bale. In their first ever collaboration, Damon and Bale’s chemistry is solid, almost bromantic, resulting in a lot of hilarious banters and some seriously heartfelt conversations between the two. It is as if they’ve done this a thousand times before. Their affection towards each other is just as believable as their frustration towards each other, magnificently demonstrated in a scene in front of Ken’s home where they go from having a fight to sharing a drink and yet, the emotional transition feels smooth, even close to being seamless. 

Matt Damon wears Carroll Shelby’s cowboy hat with effortless ease. In a sense, Damon, Hollywood’s ultimate everyman actor, is born to play the role of a racing legend who is very much the epitome of the everyman. And Damon carries himself with the same easygoing, Texan swagger as Shelby throughout the film it’s like watching the then-middle aged Shelby reincarnated on the silver screen. But his performance also feels nuanced in a fittingly understated and grounded way, exuding sincerity, workmanlike efficiency and also slight hints of steely determination that allows the character to stay as true as possible to the real-life Shelby’s ideals and beliefs. 

It goes without saying that Christian Bale is so perfectly cast as the enigmatic Ken Miles. Bale’s Miles is yet again another magnificent showcase of the Welsh thespian’s chameleon-like talent, bursting with his usual startling physical transformation, searing intensity, undeniable commitment and a working-class British accent as distinctive and convincing as his award-winning attempt at a working-class Boston accent in the Fighter (2010).  His overall work here is just as worthy of award considerations. Bale shows an uncanny ability to satiate his hunger for eccentric theatrics and pure madness while also reining those tendencies in with enough genuine heart to make his character recognizably human. 

Besides its two leads, Josh Lucas also turns in an exaggerated yet deceptively effective supporting performance as Ford’s second-in-command Leo Beebe. Lucas fully embraces the idea of playing the character as a straight-out Machiavellian villain, and for what he’s given, he does it very well. He embodies the sheer ruthlessness of a corporate overlord, conveying Beebe’s arrogance and smarminess with the weaselly, reptilian sleaziness of a rich, rotten aristocratic snob. Lucas makes the most of his limited screentime to further establish himself as a constant menace hanging over Shelby and Miles’ shoulders throughout the film, perhaps even more so than its titular villain Enzo Ferrari. 

Noah Jupe does an incredible job portraying Miles’ son Peter, demonstrating depth and maturity well beyond his years. His innate sense of youthful innocence perfectly encapsulates the child’s eye view of a father-son relationship. Jupe is able to combine childlike enthusiasm and pathos to bring to life a surprisingly complex, yet relatable character that still have a lot to learn but also having learned far too much about the dangerous possibilities of his father’s occupation. His acting is earnest in every sense of the word, generating real audience excitement in the happier moments and on the flip side, sympathy in some of the touching moments. 

Caitriona Balfe elevates the” supportive athlete’s wife” archetype, imbuing the small role of Miles’ wife Mollie with the old familiar familial warmth and some common sense. Balfe adds a deeper dimension and realistic edge to Mollie’s supportive behavior, delicately delineating her overwhelming pride and foreboding doubts to help craft a more dynamic, well-rounded athlete’s wife character than previous efforts. Tracy Letts is ideally cast as the ambitious titular character Henry Ford II.  Letts doesn’t just look like the part (thanks to the solid make-up work), he is the part: an imposing reservoir of no-nonsense authority who owns just about every scene that he is in. 

CONCLUSION: 

Ford v Ferrari brilliantly reinvents the classic underdog biopic formula with a funny, heartwarming, adrenaline-pumping and testosterone-fuelled joy ride that’s further elevated by its two leads’ winning performances, biting social commentary and exciting racing sequences. 

Score: 9/10