Made on nearly a 100 million dollar budget, and starring two bonafide movie-stars, Ford v Ferrari harkens back to old Hollywood with not just when the film takes place, but also in its style. This is one of the instances where if you ever hear someone say “they don’t make ‘em like they used to,” this might be the type of movie to show them.
Ford v Ferrari, or your dad’s favorite movie of the year, is directed by Logan (2017) and Walk the Line (2005) director James Mangold, and stars Christian Bale and Matt Damon.
As I’ve said before, at least once every fall comes a movie that lays at the perfect crossroads between mass audience appeal and being an Oscar contender. This year, Ford v Ferrari encapsulates the best of both of those things, with only some very minor flaws.
The movie is overwhelmingly composed of elements that work well, and first and foremost are the two lead performances by Bale and Damon. Damon plays Carroll Shelby, real life racer and renowned sports car designer who is hired by Ford to design a racecar to defeat Ferrari at the 1966 24 hours of Le Mans in France. Bale plays hot headed Ken Miles, the only racer good enough by Shelby, or anyone else except Ford’s standards, to possibly be able to pull out a victory.
Of the two, Damon is the more understated but is as always reliable. Although he does get a few scenes to show off his dramatic chops, the real star is (maybe not a surprise) Bale.
Christian Bale continues to demonstrate that he is indisputably one of the best actors of the 21st century, and in a strange way this movie really strengthens that statement. Bale has continuously showcased his incredible transformative ability as an actor, famously losing and gaining massive amounts of weight, or taking on foreign accents, or other incredible feats in order to portray his character as convincingly as possible. To me, his performance in The Fighter (2010) is probably in the top two performances of the decade. However, typically these performances belong to movies that are vehicles for Bale to show off as an actor, hopefully garnering an Oscar nomination or win, like in last year’s Vice. But to me what stands out about Ford v Ferrari is that it is more of a plot/story centric movie that doesn’t really require its actors to do anything exceptional, and yet still Christian Bale manages to shine.
The supporting cast is mostly good as well. Caitriona Balfe does a good job as Bale’s supportive (and thankfully not totally one-note) wife. Plus it’s always nice seeing a performance by a child actor (in this case Bale’s son, played by Noah Jupe) that doesn’t make me want to get an impromptu vasectomy. The only characters that are occasionally irritating to watch are the Ford executives, although most of that is done deliberately for the sake of the plot.
However, outside of the two leading men, the biggest draw of the film is almost certainly the racing sequences. And while I’d certainly say the race scenes are good, I’m a little disappointed to say that they aren’t great. On a technical level, the film all around, and especially the races, are done exceptionally well. The sound design is fantastic and very immersive, and the editing is terrific at conveying the type of pacing and tension that are a part of auto-racing, but I couldn’t help feeling that it maybe compromised some opportunities to really “wow” the audience with some of the movie’s more impressive shots. I kept thinking that if they had just left the camera on a specific shot for just a second longer, the racing would have been that much better than the final product’s more “quick-cut” style.
When it comes to what doesn’t work, I’d say the screenplay is unfortunately at the head of the pack. Look, I understand that sometimes when you make movies that are supposed to be accessible to wider audiences, especially people who maybe don’t watch as many movies as others, writers may feel like they have to make characters blatantly reiterate plot information by just saying it aloud. However, some instances of this were so excessive, I rolled my eyes a couple of times. If you dedicate an entire scene to demonstrating that Christian Bale is a rough around the edges, rebellious, even troublesome competitor, but also an incredibly talented racer, you don’t need to cap off said scene with a character saying “He’s difficult, but good” aloud.
The second thing that detracts from the film, but only a little, are the sequences of the Ford executives without Bale or Damon involved. Again, portraying the Ford executives as annoying characters is mostly deliberate and contributes to the larger themes of the movie. However, this doesn’t mean I wasn’t wishing I was watching Bale or Damon when it was just these minor characters on screen.
Overall, Ford v Ferrari rips. If you are interested in seeing it, I’d say seeing it in theaters will give you the best experience, although seeing it any way you can is still a good idea. If Star Wars is sold out, and Little Women and 1917 aren’t up your alley, hopefully this film is still in theaters over winter break for the family to enjoy together. •
