Stars set a cracking pace in pedal-to-the-floor motoring thriller
Matt Damon and Christian Bale provide the engine to this finely tuned underdog story in which two of the biggest names in motoring go head to head
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FORD V FERRARI
Four stars
Director James Mangold
Starring Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Tracy Letts
Rating M
Running time 152 minutes
Verdict One helluva ride
Who doesn’t love a finely tuned underdog story — especially one with as much grunt as this one?
Henry Ford II’s (Tracy Letts) calculated, multimillion-dollar foray into endurance car racing hardly amounts to a victory for the little guy. But the engine of this handsome biopic is the relationship between two of his maverick employees — smooth-talking Texan automotive designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and scrappy British race car driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale).
As director James Mangold tells it – working from a script by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth and Jason Keller – the nonconformist speak freaks outsmarted the Ford Corporation’s college-educated suits AND the laws of physics to build a race car that could beat Ferrari in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
Ford’s grudge against Enzo Ferrari was personal – after rejecting a buyout offer from “The Deuce”, the Italian racing legend rubbed salt into the wound by insulting the powerful CEO with a couple of well-placed, ego-puncturing barbs.
The resultant, cutthroat feud between the Yanks and “the Wops” provides a colourful backdrop for this handsome period biopic.
The way Mangold tells it, Ford executive Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) approached Shelby with an offer that was too good to refuse not long after the Ford/Ferrari deal collapsed.
With the help of crack team of mechanics and engineers, and bankrolled by Ford, he and Miles set about building a car that could beat the dominant Italians in the 1966 Le Mans race.
The gulf between Ferrari’s hand-machined workshop and Ford’s assembly line production model is clearly delineated.
As is the difference between Shelby and Miles’ instinct-driven, hands-on approach and their employers’ reliance on computer-driven, lab-tested results – there’s a fun scene in which a seasoned engineer solves an aerodynamic issue with sticky tape and string.
Ford v Ferrari acquits itself exceptionally well on the track – you can practically feel the adrenaline rush and smell the exhaust fumes.
But it’s the two central performances, combined with a scene-stealing cameo from Letts and a pumping, country-tinged soundtrack, that give this film its edge.
Letts portrays Ford as a third-generation hard-arse, but the shrewd, supremely-entitled CEO might just have met his match in Shelby, a wily operator and fearless negotiator.
The film’s corporate powerplays are almost as gripping as the action that surrounds them.
As played by Bale, Miles is pig-headed, short-fused and socially awkward. Combined with his tender relationship with the young son, who adores him, this renders his character a bit more human than your average, speed-obsessed race car driver.
Ford v Ferrari’s final scenes negotiate an emotionally satisfying compromise between wish fulfilment and historical veracity.
If 20th Century Fox’s version of events isn’t entirely true, then it damn well ought to be.
Ford V Ferrari is now showing