Welcome back to another review everyone! Today we will be talking about a film that was a getting a lot of attention in the awards race and looking at the movie its not hard to see why. Its based on a true story, its got a well known (at least in the film world) director(James Mangold), and its got two A-list celebrities in the leading roles (Matt Damon, and Christian Bale). I’d be surprised it didn’t get at least some kind of recognition (luckily it did)! It sure piqued my interest as I do like me a good old fashioned studio programmer with that kind of talent and some pretty terrific trailers that play very well on the big screen. So now that I saw it and gotten some time to think about it I can safely say this is one of my favorites of the year and one of the best biopics I’ve seen in quite some time. Why’s that? Well lets find out down below!
Based off of a true story, the film quickly introduces us to our two protagonists, car designer, Carroll Shelby, and talented race car driver and struggling mechanic, Ken Miles who are tasked with building a car that could help Ford Motors win the 24 Hour at Le Mans against Ferrari. This conflict came about when Vice President of the company, Lee Iacocca, proposes to Henry Ford II to purchase ferrari as a way to improve car sales by participating at Le Mans. Enzo Ferrari himself, however, refuses to go through with the deal (while also insulting Ford in the process). This of course makes Ford furious and he immediately orders his racing division to start building a car that could beat Ferrari at the race. This of course leads Iacocca to track down Shelby since he is a former winner of Le Mans (though he is retired due to health issues) to help out, which in turn leads Shelby to ask Miles to be involved. This leads to some complications during the building process when he isn’t seen as the ideal driver in the eyes of the company which doesn’t sit too well with either him or Shelby. With all of these issues arising quickly, can Shelby, Miles, and their crew be able to build a car fast enough to beat Ferrari while also getting things done their way?
Like I said in the intro, I really like watching biopics like this, in particular ones where I’m not too familiar with the true story their based on since I don’t really know how things would turn out which made the proceedings intense, and there were even some parts that caught me by surprise (granted some things may not be all factual but that hardly matters if the product is still worthwhile). It also helps that the story manages to be consistently investing and even interesting throughout while also subverting expectations of the genre at times with certain things not going as one might expect all the time. Also since I’m not a car racing fanatic this film did an excellent job explaining how things work and takes a look at both the actual racing aspect, and the business part as well and how the two relate to each other. Heck more often than not the two side are always at odds over most things which is a definitely some less than subtle commentary on how the film industry works sometimes with studios constantly micro managing their products against the people who worked on them’s wishes with there being the artists vs the suits as I like to call it, which is mentioned in some very thoughtful conversations between Shelby, and Miles (the dialogue on the whole is pretty great). But aside from that, there’s also an underlying theme of doing the things you love the most and not letting anything get in the way of that which is best displayed by the two main characters and their friendship which is rooted in what they do which hit me pretty hard and was really relatable. Another aspect I was impressed by was how they were able to make this two and a half hour drama about racing not feel like its running time at all as I wasn’t bored once watching it. My only real issue with the film is that it starts off a little slow at the beginning but once they start working on the car it speeds by from there. Other than that though I was fully onboard with the movie throughout and left feeling very satisfied by the end.
The reported budget here was around $97 million which ain’t a cheap number, especially for a movie like this, so kudos to Fox for giving Mangold and his crew to work with and they made sure to use that money to create the best product possible. It is just a gorgeous film to look at with some beautiful scenery of the countryside, both in the U.S. and in France and some great cinematography courtesy of Phedon Papamichael that just looks striking. There’s also some great production design that captures the 1960s setting of the film very well, and I appreciate just how colorful the film looks throughout. But how can we talk about this movie and not discuss the main attraction for most people going to see it, which is of course the racing scenes. Thankfully Mangold directs the hell out of them and they’re are a blast to watch! He directs them in a way that ratchets up the tension of the proceedings and I appreciated the mix of both practical effects, and CGI used during these sequences. You know now that I think about it though, while the racing stuff is great and all the big reason I think most people will want to see this film is to see the duo that is Matt Damon, and Christian Bale. They both deliver fantastic performances with Bale being a scene stealer as this larger than life figure, and Damon being the more down to earth of the two but still just as effective. They have a nice sense of camaraderie together and their both compelling individuals in their own right whom the audience wants to see succeed and their relationship is the beating heart of the feature. I also really liked Ken’s relationship with his wife, Mollie, played very well by Caitriona Balfe as it was nice to see that the two had a lot in common (like both liking cars) and her worries about him were understandable (though she gets more to do than just worry about her husband). There was also the father-son aspect with Ken, and Peter which was really sweet and a highlight of the film in no small part thanks to Noah Jupe’s delightful turn. Meanwhile in the Ford area Jon Bernthal brings some nice charisma, and even some sympathy to his role as Iacocca, and Tracy Letts was perfectly cast as Henry Ford II given his strict boss like demeanor but he never plays so over the top that it becomes a caricature. Oh and there’s also the antagonist of the film, the senior executive vice President Leo Beebe and while usually its a bit cliche when they put this type of character into a story like this, here it works better than most since I feel like it helps enforce the message of the film in terms of the whole suits vs. artists aspect and Josh Lucas did a decent job in the role. Only others that do much are Ray McKinnon as Phil Remington who gets some pretty good lines, and Remo Girone as Enzo Ferrari who does what he can with limited screen time and had some funny moments. To be honest I was surprised how much the supporting cast got to do considering who the leads are, but hey the more the merrier!
Ford V. Ferrari is a fantastic biopic that manages to stand out from the crowded pack of them. It succeeds largely due to its strong writing, excellently handled messages, outstanding craftsmanship, and a terrific cast with two award worthy performances leading the charge. It is exactly the type of movie I hope Disney continues to make now that they own Fox as I do want to more of em. I also am equally excited for anything James Mangold puts out next as he has proven himself to be one of the most talented directors working right now. I highly recommend this to people who love car racing, but heck even if you don’t still check it out anyway as its that good! Heck maybe like me you’ll learn a thing or two about the topic from this movie and who doesn’t love that! Its easily one of my favorites of the year, and I hope anyone gets the chance to check it out!
Rating: A
Leave your thoughts down below and see you guys later!
Review Time 