A review by Brian M Downing
Ford vs Ferrari (2019)
8/10
Director: James Mangold
Stars: Matt Damon, Christian Bale
The film tells the story of Texas maverick Carrol Shelby’s collaboration with the suits of Ford Motors to compete in the World Sportscar Championship races, which included Sebring. Daytona, and Le Mans. The races were longer in duration than, say, NASCAR, Formula 1, and Indianapolis style. Those events had a specified distance to accomplish. World Sportscar Championship races were based not on distance but on time. Some went on for 12 or more hours. Le Mans, the climax to the film, was a 24-hour race.
A race car story might not attract too many people but the film has family dynamics between driver Christian Bale and his wife and son, tensions between Shelby and Ford executives, and the competition between the US and Italy for prestige and sales. As the Fords outperform the Ferraris during Le Mans, Shelby looks up at Enzo Ferrari fuming in the mezzanine and quips, “I don’t speak Italian but he ain’t happy.” The Fords finished 1,2,3.
Steve McQueen made a film about 50 years ago called Le Mans. As I recall it had great racing sequences but was burdened by extraneous personal stories. In this film, racing scenes add to the human center – free spirits vs bureaucrats, father and son. They are well done but the crashes and continuous bumping at 170 mph or so seemed a bit overdone. And I realize that at least three of the named drivers in the film (Miles, Bandini, McLaren) were killed in crashes within a few years of the 1966 Le Mans race in the film.
By the by, the Ford GT remains the most beautiful car ever made.
© 2020 Brian M Downing
Brian M Downing is a national security analyst who’s written for outlets across the political spectrum. He studied at Georgetown University and the University of Chicago, and did post-graduate work at Harvard’s Center for International Affairs. Thanks as ever to Susan Ganosellis.