Hi everyone!
Welcome back for our first full week of reviews for 2020. And it’s going to be a very busy week, I can tell you that much. We’re continuing our catchup weeks, reviewing films recently released in theaters, with a special focus on Golden Globe nominees. I’m sure you are all anxiously awaiting the results this evening as much as we are, not to mention the rest of Film Twitter. This week we’ll have the return of two more regular contributors. Ryan L. Terry will be reviewing JUDY tomorrow in place of Matinee Mondays, and Keith Lyons will return on Thursday with his review of last year’s LES MISÉRABLES. The Book of Lies Podcast will be returning with their review of ROCKETMAN. We’ll have our first special interview episode with Irish filmmaker Robbie Walsh looking at his microbudget feature EDEN. Andrew Campbell will return on Friday with his review of A24’s THE DEATH OF DICK LONG. And Saturday, I’ll be reviewing the Safdie Brothers’ latest film, UNCUT GEMS, if my heart can take it.
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Here we go!
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Today’s movie is FORD V FERRARI, the historical drama directed by James Mangold, and written for the screen by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller. In the 1960s, Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) proposes to Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) that Ford should design a car to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a grueling race dominated year after year by the Ferrari company. After Ferrari rejects Ford’s offer to purchase their company, Lee reaches out to car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and an irascible driver named Ken Miles (Christian Bale) to defeat them on the track.
No spoilers.
America has a love/hate relationship with the automobile, carefully nurtured as a status symbol during the rise of the Ford Motor Company, then becoming a mainstay of rural and suburban life. Entire cities have been designed around the automobile, making their ownership, or at least their availability a necessity for many, and bringing pollution, rising gas prices, and gridlock traffic. Automobiles are tools like any other, but there is a subset of cars that make the transition from tools to toys, whether that’s the classic car clubs across the world, or the minor league racing circuit.
FORD V FERRARI is a film about boys working on their toys, in this case, the incredible and innovative Ford GT40. Ford wasn’t the only company targeting Ferrari in that time period. At General Motors, John DeLorean was pushing the Pontiac LeMans and offering a GTO package, the first commercially available mainstream muscle car in the United States. In fact, the GTO signifier was inspired by the successful Ferrari 250 GTO. You can find out more about that particular car in FRAMING JOHN DELOREAN (Episode #648), along with a general look at the rise of the muscle car.
Each character involved on the Ford team exemplifies the different types of boys and their toys. For Ford, played very arrogantly by Tracy Letts, this challenge was about pride in the once great Ford Motor Company, and after Ford fails to buy Ferrari, about wounded pride. For Iacocca, it’s about making a path for himself at Ford, and an episode in the often-contentious relationship with Ford II. For Shelby, the challenge is about the challenge itself, and his own wounded pride about failing to win at Le Mans before needing to retire. For Miles, it’s about the pride in being the best racer, and knowing cars better than anyone else. And for the supporting cast around them, it’s about dealing with all the emotions and fallout surrounding the entire journey, leaving metaphorical and literal wreckage in its wake.
FORD V FERRARI borrows a great deal from classic racing movies. We’re introduced to the characters early on, laying the groundwork for each character, and for the corporate intrigue surrounding Ford’s attempt to buy his way into racing. Once the conflicts are established, not just between Ford and Ferrari, but also internally on the Ford team, we begin the journey to Le Mans ’66. The writing team plays a little fast and loose with the actual history, all crafted to make sure the viewer is firmly on the Ford side, and within the Ford team, firmly on the side of Shelby and Miles. Ferrari is made out to be arrogant enough to want to see them fail.
The road to Le Mans 66 shows us not just the development of the Ford GT40, but also the development of the two lead characters. We learn a lot about Shelby and Miles, and their relationships outside of their obsession with cars. We also get a sneak peak into the absolutely ridiculous and childish corporate politics that get played, especially by boys playing with their toys, whether that’s a car, a division, a career, or an entire corporation. We want the team to win, even if it seems composed entirely of assholes. Even Shelby and Miles, played as good old boys from a forgotten era, can be assholes from time to time, which is contextually accurate, but also feels incredibly privileged, especially with how petty many characters act when that much money is at stake for what is ultimately a frivolous honor.
Now, I may not like the characters in this film, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t played well. Christian Bale absolutely deserves the nomination for Best Actor in a Drama, turning in a full and consistent character performance from start to finish. He’s almost a perfect asshole at times, sometimes justifiably so, sometimes aggravatingly not. Damon’s portrayal of Shelby feels much smaller next to Bale’s performance, which is also reminiscent of the relationship between Shelby and Miles at the time. The supporting cast is above average, working to support either the team’s efforts or the individuals on the team. Miles’ relationship to his spouse Mollie (Caitriona Balfe) and his son Peter (Noah Jupe) provide a nice break from, or at least a reduction of, the testosterone of the other scenes.
I do have some criticisms for the overall film. The film clocks in at two and a half hours, roughly cut up as a half-hour introduction, an hour to make it to Le Mans, about thirty minutes at Le Mans, and closing up afterwards. The film does a great job of managing the focus of Ford vs Ferrari, but doesn’t manage the character’s stories nearly as well. Aside from Miles, and maybe Shelby, every other character has very little development, either acting as a force of nature in Ford and Iacocca, or acting in reaction to Shelby and Miles. I feel like at least thirty minutes could be cut from the film, although I’m not entirely sure where. Taking out the extra scenes involving Miles would lessen Bale’s performance, and with Shelby narrating portions of the film, it’s hard to know where else to cut. While I was never bored by the film, I did get impatient waiting to get to the racing, then wondered how much was left at the end.
FORD V FERRARI is an extensive look at the journey to Ford’s victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, focused on the rivalry between Ford and Ferrari, but also on the car that won the race, and the people who took that car to victory. Bale turns in an excellent performance, buoyed perhaps by scenes which might have pumped the brakes a little too much along the way. Muscle car and racing fans, or fans of films about cars, will definitely enjoy this film. Just allocate enough time to properly enjoy it.
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% (CERTIFIED FRESH)
Metacritic: 81 (MUST SEE)
One Movie Punch: 8.0/10
FORD V FERRARI (2019) is rated PG-13 and is currently playing in theaters.
