Movie Review #67 Ford v Ferrari Plus my Talking Flick Podcast appearance!

Ford v Ferrari (2019) Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Caitriona Balfe Directed by James Mangold

"We’re lighter, we’re faster, and if that don’t work, we’re nastier.” Matt Damon (Carroll Shelby)

Ford v Ferrari is a movie about triumph, tragedy, friendship, and fast cars...and practically nothing else. It is a wonder that gifted filmmaker James Mangold (Logan) chose this approach when crafting this film, he really doesn’t delve into the lives of Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles outside of the racetracks and car garages where they hang out. It’s actually a genius decision not to really humanize the protagonists much, it keeps the action going (that’s needed with a 2 hours and 32 minute run time), it allows us all to have more fun and it puts more focus on the cars (which are really f**king cool). The one problem with that choice is that it undercuts the emotional moments a bit. My guess is Mangold knew we would all care about Damon and Bale no matter how much time he spent on their home life or friendship, and he was dead right. Earlier this year we saw Tarentino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood bring two Tinseltown heavyweights together in Pitt and DiCaprio, now Mangold gives a badass canvass for Damon and Bale to go to work: buckle up, cause it’s a hell of a ride. 

Director James Mangold is no stranger to biopics or historical dramas (Walk the Line), and frankly I’m happy he is hanging up his Wolverine claws for something Hollywood is dying for more of; the expensive, well crafted, adult drama. Ford v Ferrari is the story Henry Ford II (a strong performance by Tracy Letts) and Lee Iacocca’s (a surprisingly understated Jon Bernthal) crazy idea that they could develop a race car (Ford’s GT40 MK I) that could beat the dominant Ferrari race team owned by Enzo Ferrari (played well by Remo Girone) at Le Mans. To accomplish this seemingly impossible task Iacocca recruits former Le Mans winner Carroll Shelby (Oscar worthy performance by Damon) who has since given up racing due a heart condition. Shelby knows he will need a great driver to have even an outside chance at winning, so he turns to his friend, old racing rival, and struggling auto mechanic, Ken Miles (full British accent Christian Bale). These two alpha’s butt heads at every turn with each other until they discover another enemy, the suits at Ford who don’t share the same passion for oil grease and RPMs as they do. The film actually paints Ford motor company in a somewhat negative light, too concerned with churning out uninspired Ford Falcons and not passionate about making a car that grabs the attention of America’s youth. Even though the film really makes you root for Shelby and Miles, you don’t root for Ford until we actually go to France for Le Mans. Josh Lucas (Sweet Home Alabama) shows up as a smarmy Ford Exec hellbent on getting rid of Miles and replacing him with a “Ford” man. 

The Music and sound mixing really play an important role in this film, similar to how Damien Chazelle wanted to put you in the shaky and loud NASA rocket, in 2018’s First Man, Mangold wants you to feel the tight turns and down shifting of the GT40 MK II. It works really well as you will slide around in your theater seat in between the straightaways of Le Mans. The car crashes make you jump, while Mangold even manages to successfully physically exhaust you as his 1966 Le Mans third act goes on for nearly 40 action packed minutes. It is reminiscent of 2018’s #1 film (on this blog anyway) Bohemian Rhapsody which elected to show nearly the full 17-minute set at the 1985 Live Aid concert, a decision I thought saved the film from mediocrity. Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari needs no such saving, but the third act is a masterclass in filmmaker, delivering a wonderfully entertaining and adrenaline pumped competitiveness that is rarely seen in today’s comic film saturated world. After another ho-hum sort of year in film, I needed Ford v Ferrari to be good, to at least restore some faith that a film can succeed without being part of existing IP or part of a larger expanded universe (with seemingly infinite timelines and phases), and thankfully Ford v Ferrari is very good. With a projected 30 million dollar opening weekend this 95 million dollar film might actually prove lucrative for 20^thCentury Fox as well (how about that). SEE IT! 

(The Shawshank Scale 1-10) Ford v Ferrari is the best film of 2019 so far, in fact it’s the best film in nearly 2 years, not since 3 Billboards and I, Tonya have I had this much adult fun at the theater. Damon and Bale are a great combo and Mangold makes great storytelling choices all around. Ford v Ferrari earns a very respectable 7.0 on The Shawshank Scale and I suspect several Oscar Nominations will come from this effort.  

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY UPCOMING GUEST APPEARANCE ON TALKING FLICK!

Talking Flick on iTunes  (The Ford v Ferrari Episode)

Talking Flick on Anchor  (The Ford v Ferrari Episode)