Ford v Ferrari stars Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby, a retired race car driver turned automobile manufacturer who’s approached by Lee Iacocca, played by Jon Bernthal, the vice president of Ford Motor Company, to help design a car that will beat Ferrari in the race known as 24 Hours of Le Mans. Unable to actually participate due to a heart condition, Shelby enlists the help of racer and mechanic Ken Miles, played by Christian Bale, who can use the money to help make ends meet. The two work together pushing the limits of speed and safety in their new automobile, while Shelby has to fight tooth and nail to protect the hot-tempered Miles from being fired by the Ford executives.
This is more or less an underdog story when it comes down to it. While Matt Damon is the one with top billing here, this is really Christian Bale’s movie, and his story mainly follows that of many other underdog stories. A struggling, flawed individual is presented with a major opportunity and has to fight his way to finding the success he’s wanted all his life. The movie is fairly straightforward in that regard, but still manages to tell a compelling, engaging story despite a sense of familiarity.
What makes the story more interesting than the average underdog sports movie is the fact that there’s a heavy focus on character here, and isn’t just strictly interested in the racing elements. A lot of this movie has to do with Miles’ personal life, and the effects that teaming up with Ford has on both his relationship with his wife Mollie and son Peter, portrayed by Caitriona Balfe and Noah Jupe, respectively. Miles constantly feels a pressure to succeed, as his family is on the verge of being evicted from their home, and it leads to quite a few heated moments where he lets the pressure get the better of him, and it’s often heartbreaking to watch.
Though what’s nice is that his family isn’t there to simply add to his troubles. There’s one particularly great scene in which Ken and Mollie are driving, and he reveals to her the opportunity from Ford, and she gives a response that leads to a bit of an argument. However, it’s not the response he was expecting from her, as she doesn’t berate him for his choice. And while there’s tension in their disagreement, she reacts in a much more realistic way than similar issues typically are portrayed on screen, and it makes Mollie feel much more like a fleshed out character.
The most touching aspect, however, is Ken’s relationship with his son, and what’s nice is just how subtly it’s explored, yet still managing to leave a big impact. Peter is often around Ken for the majority of his time on screen. While there are plenty of moments that explicitly emphasize how close they are, there are also a lot of moments where these two will simply just react to one another when something major happens and it just conveys so much about their relationship. There will be a moment where Ken makes a big breakthrough or gets in an argument with a Ford executive, and there will be a cut to Peter just taking that moment in, and eventually Ken also looking over at him. It serves as a constant reminder as to what Ken’s motivations are and gives both characters a ton of depth.
Needless to say, the performances are all around excellent, with Christian Bale bringing a ton of emotion to the film, being at times hilarious and other times heartbreaking. His energy is almost always at an eleven, and his passion is a big part of what drives most scenes forward. Matt Damon is also great as Shelby, bringing with him dry wit that makes him fun for many of the other characters to play off of well. Though Shelby is often stuck playing the middle man between both the Ford executives and Miles, and it leads to many scenes where he’s forced into delivering awful news to Miles right after getting into heated arguments with the Ford executives, and he often feels horrible about it, which is conveyed perfectly through awkward body language that Damon nails and makes him feel so real, as anyone who’s stuck as a middleman in business would act the exact same way he did.
By far the absolute best element of this film though is the racing scenes. This is where James Mangold’s direction really gets to shine, as he makes each of these moments visually stunning and emotionally gripping to watch, even for those who may not be fans of the sport. He gives a sense of disorientation with many of these scenes, filming them sometimes at slanted angles or in extreme closeups, allowing the audience to somewhat feel the same way many of the actual racers would feel in the moment, where they can only see so much in front of them and only have a split second at times to react. These moments will leave audiences on the edge of their seat, waiting to see what happens next.
While the racing scenes are excellent and performances on point, the only other major thing this movie has against it is its runtime. This is a two and a half hour movie, and every so often, it’s felt, as the lead up into some of the more emotional moments can often feel a bit too heavy handed or dialogue heavy, as Shelby and Miles try working out the finer details of their agreement with Ford. There are also a few instances of arguments that feel somewhat repetitive, due to Shelby having to go through multiple channels at times, and some of the same information is conveyed in multiple conversations, and it feels at times like the movie tries leaning in a bit too hard with its underdog elements at times, as if it really wants to hit the audience over the head with that idea.
Ford v Ferrari is an overall thrilling, emotionally engaging film that will manage to captivate those who have never once watched a car race in their life. While at times it can be just a bit too long and feel a little familiar at times, it has plenty of great elements going for it. Its characters are very well-written, with a great personal story about family that’s masterfully woven in, and it also allows for some truly excellent performances from Christian Bale and Matt Damon to come out as a result. Plus, it contains some visually stunning racing scenes that will truly mesmerize audiences, thanks to James Mangold’s fantastic direction. This has much more depth than the average sports drama, and one that shouldn’t be missed.
Recommendation: Watch It
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