Review: Ford v Ferrari

Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox.

I've never particularly been a car aficionado, so while the concept of flashy vehicles traveling round and round in circles and loud engines revving didn't exactly sound like my cup of tea, James Mangold's period piece racing movie "Ford v Ferrari" is actually pretty good.

The film tells the apparently true story of Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts, whose portrayal gives the impression that the man had some sort of painful, chronic gas) giving the go-ahead to create a Ford vehicle that could defeat the much faster Ferrari in the grueling, 24-hour Le Mans race in France - a feat that had never been performed by an American car up until 1966 when this film is set.

The two men credited here with accomplishing this feat did so at a time when they'd nearly hit bottom. We meet race car driver Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) at the film's beginning as he has just won a race, but learns shortly thereafter that a heart condition will prevent him from ever racing again. Ken Miles (Christian Bale) is a cranky British driver who finds out that the IRS has shut down his mechanic's shop, and he is desperate to find a way to support his wife (Caitriona Balfe) and young son (Noah Jupe).

When Ford learns that Ferrari is verging on bankruptcy - his strive for perfection in his automobiles has cost him a pretty penny - he and some of his corporate stooges (played by Jon Bernthal and a particularly slimy Josh Lucas) come up with a scheme to purchase Ferrari, although the deal might prevent Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone) from racing his cars at Le Mans. Ferrari insults Ford and strikes up a deal with Fiat, and we later learn that having talks with Ford was merely a bargaining tool for the Italian carmaker.

Angered, Ford becomes determined to defeat Ferrari at Le Mans, despite the Italian car being significantly better made for racing and the fact that Ferrari had won the coveted prize for many years in a row. Shelby is brought on board to lead the effort, and he insists that Miles is the driver, although Lucas' Leo Beebe is hellbent on keeping Miles from being behind the wheel during the race due to Miles' occasionally erratic behavior.

"Ford v Ferrari" is in many ways a typical sports movie, but it's unique in that it asks us to root for two guys - Miles and Shelby - who are doing the bidding of some others - Ford and Beebe - who are not so likable. Beebe is a corporate shill who wants nothing more than to perfect a brand for the purpose of making large profits, while Ford is portrayed as a casual bigot and the type of guy who threatens his workforce to come up with bold ideas - that he seemingly can't come up with himself - or he'll fire them all. In some ways, the snootily-portrayed Ferrari is the more sympathetic of the two carmakers because there appears to at least be some passion involved in his enterprise.

The film is loaded with gripping racing sequences, although the picture hits most of the formulaic beats you'd expect. It's Damon and Bale who keep us interested throughout as two men who have an occasionally love-hate relationship, but also grudging respect for one another. For those unfamiliar with how the 1966 Le Mans turned out - as well as the fate of those involved - there's some honestly earned emotion late in the picture.

"Ford v Ferrari" has some trappings of a blockbuster film - it's sleek design, fast paced action sequences and visual style - and yet it's the type of movie that doesn't get made much anymore, at least by major studios, which mostly deal in franchises, sequels and pictures that are preprogrammed for success. Mangold's film employs some old-fashioned storytelling, and for the most part it's pretty enjoyable.