Boys will be boys, however fast their toys!

 

Ford Vs Ferrari - movie review  

Director - James Mangold
Cast - Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Jon Bernthal, Josh Lucas, Cationa Balfe, Tracy Letts

A couple of years ago, back when we used to go to office, one of our leaders had mentioned about this movie and how it had left an impression. I have been meaning to watch this movie since then but never got an opportunity until recently. Too bad I couldn't watch it on the big screen.

Directed by James Mangold, and given spectacular horsepower by dual male leads Christian Bale and Matt Damon, “Ford v Ferrari” is a period sports drama, that not only appeals to the "need for speed" population, but also lends a sensitive human touch to this true story. 

The story unfolds with Damon's (Shelby's) voice over about what it feels like to hit 7,000 RPM with a car, that gives an insight into why some people race - its not just a passion but a calling. Shelby is an ex-racing star turned car engineer & designer owing to health issues. He finds his soulmate in Bale (Miles), who is a feisty and formidable car mechanic as well as an expert behind the wheel.

My take on the story is that its about the MALE ego and revenge :) It recounts a business deal gone wrong and the reaction of a stubborn, egotistical automotive titan who is determined to get his pound of flesh. Henry Ford II (Hank the Deuce) is worried about the sales of Ford in 1963. To boost the sales, Lee Iacocca proposes a bold marketing strategy– to win one of the most prestigious car races in the world – 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ford needed a sports car in his portfolio and since there was no plan to build one, he decided to acquire Ferrari that was a legend in that space. 

However, Enzo Ferrari took objection to one of the clauses in the contract and withdrew at the last moment. He insulted Ford to his representatives and added fuel to the fire by selling a majority stake in Ferrari to fellow Italian automaker Fiat. This enraged Ford to an extent where he decided to build a sports car that would humiliate Ferrari where it mattered the most - the Le Mans race. The seeds for the legendary GT40 car were sowed.

That's where Carroll Shelby, one of the only American drivers to ever win at Le Mans, is entrusted with the design of the winning car. Together with a second world war veteran, British talented but volatile driver, Ken Miles, he reinvents the GT40 and works through all the bugs. These are two stubborn, headstrong individuals who inadvertently become strong allies and forge a lasting friendship. But they are ultimately only cogs in the vicious wheel of corporate rivalry. 

Ford didn’t just defeat Ferrari at Le Mans in 1966, it humiliated the Italian stallions. While Ferrari didn’t even have a car that completed the race, GT40 Mk. II’s captured first, second and third places.The finish wasn’t without controversy. Late in the race, Miles was well ahead of the competition, on his way to ending Ferrari’s dominance at Le Mans and becoming the only driver to win the world’s three biggest endurance race—the 24 hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans—in the same year.

Ford’s PR guru Leo Beebe wanted to celebrate the win with a picture of the trio crossing the finish line together. So, he had Shelby order Miles to slow down and let the other GT40 teams catch up. After crossing the line, Miles was informed that he did not win the race. His teammate Bruce McLaren did. McLaren started several cars behind Miles. Anyway, the mutinous Miles did turn into a team player and learned that it comes with a cost.

Some of the better scenes of the movie go to Miles' wife - Mollie (Caitriona Balfe) and their son. Despite his unpredictable temperament, he is a family man and devoted to them. Though she doesn’t have a heap of screen time, Balfe is forceful in all she does. Annoyed with Miles, Mollie guns their station wagon at such a furious clip that even he, seated beside her, begs her to slow down. And Balfe is there again, in the movie’s best scene—no cars, no crowds, simply a sunny day in suburbia. Shelby and Miles are slugging it out on a patch of grass across the street. Mollie emerges, takes one look, and, instead of rushing over to stop them, fetches herself a garden chair and calmly settles down with a copy of Better Living to watch the bout unfold. Auto racing in the mid-sixties was a male dominated world but Balfe manages to leave a mark nevertheless.  

The more dangerous fight is reserved for the track—for many tracks, from Willow Springs, an hour or so north of Los Angeles, to Daytona, and thus, climactically, to the course at Le Mans. The racing sequences are so authentically mounted that you can almost smell the burning rubber as the squealing tyres pierce your soul. The movie is 2.5 hours long, could have been shorter, but its a great watch!

My husband's take was its a movie about answering your calling, whereas mine was, boys will be boys :)