Review of Ford v Ferrari (2019) by Markhreviews — 25 Nov 2019

Like a high-performance race car, a well-crafted film hums along with seeming effortlessness, making the seamless integration of all the story’s elements look easy. In the capable hands of Director James Mangold (“Walk the Line,” “Logan”), “Ford v Ferrari” is one of those films.

The story, based on true events, centers on Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon), a car designer, showman and entrepreneur, and veteran driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale), a plain-spoken Englishman obsessed with automotive perfection. After Ford’s unsuccessful effort to purchase the dominant Ferrari race team in 1962, Ford management hired Shelby-American in 1965 with a goal of winning the 24 Hours at Le Mans, the world’s premier automobile endurance race. After abject failure their first year, the driving team led by Miles won the endurance races at Sebring and the 24 Hours at Daytona in 1966 leading up to the race at Le Mans, the film’s climactic scene.

When Damon and Bale are together on the screen, that alone is well worth the price of admission. However, they are ably supported by a strong cast including Caitriona Balfe (“Outlander” TV series) as Miles’ wife and Tracy Letts (the long-suffering father in “Lady Bird”) as Henry Ford II, whose screams and facial expressions when he experiences his first ride in a race car almost steal the show (regrettably, this scene is apparently apocryphal). The storyline explores the fine line between persistence and obsession, the role of individualism in a corporate culture and, most of all, the overwhelming power of friendship.

With its budget of $97 million, “Ford v Ferrari” strives for faithful re-enactment throughout the film. Despite a daunting script that calls for shooting several extensive race scenes (the last scene at Le Mans clocks in at 25 minutes) and multiple spectacular crashes, the creative team elected not to use CGI. They assembled as many cars from the period as possible, then supplemented them with faithful replicas, particularly of the Ford GT40. One person has estimated that some of the Le Mans scenes had race cars valued at over $200 million on the track at the same time. Several key elements of the story are rendered equally faithfully.

It’s only a minor distraction, but the inevitable conflict between Shelby’s team and the “suits” from Ford seems quite forced. And from several reports, it’s not entirely accurate. Similarly, the race results sometimes have been altered to increase dramatic effect (which makes sense, because the outcomes of most endurance races are apparent long before the race concludes).

“Ford v Ferrari’ is a throwback film in the best possible sense. It’s well worth the time of contemporary audiences. It’s one of the best films of the year.