Ford Vs Ferrari Review

Director James Mangold delves into the world of motor racing with Ford v Ferrari (or Le Mans 66, depending on where you are in the world). This film is set in the 1960s and follows automotive engineer Carrol Shelby (Matt Damon) and British racing driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) as they work together to create a car that they hope will win against Ferrari in an upcoming race. But as they work they also have to deal with interference from the corporate side of things, the limitations of the laws of physics and their own personal demons if anything is to be accomplished.

Damon has a clear understanding of the kind of character he is supposed to be playing but despite the effort he brings to his role he seems rather one-note and fails to give the same level of performance he has brought to some of his other leading roles. In the supporting roles we have the likes of Jon Bernthal, Noah Jupe and Tracy Letts who all play their parts well enough but are mostly as one-note as Damon, with Bernthal being the exception largely due to his distinctive voice.

Christian Bale seems to jump between two approaches to his part; on the one hand he brings his traditional immersion into the role which, for a while, appears to be working, complete with a strong English accent. At other times he goes for exaggeration, in a comedic or eccentric way, which makes it a little hard to take him seriously. But of course playing eccentrics has always been one of Bale's strengths.

The script comes to us from Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and Jason Keller, and they have taken the time to flesh out the core characters of the story, explore the drama going on in Miles's family, the friction going in the warring car companies and of course have fitted in a lot of racing too. But its strongest point is its characterisations of real people. Some of the characters are very easy to like and to root for, while others may seem at first to be be rather one sided, but on a closer look their viewpoints can be readily understood as well.

The cinematography by Phedon Papamichael lacks memorable shots but compensates for that with a pleasing aesthetic that can especially be seen in the racing sequences, possessing a feeling of authenticity and intensity.

As to the score (by Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders) it's fairly forgettable but with the film being set in the 1960s it comes with a set of songs from that time, of which I Put A Spell On You stood out most for me.

There are two (related) defects with the film, firstly at two hours and thirty-two minutes it's simply too long. Ten to fifteen minutes could be trimmed without anything significant being lost. Also, the first act drags woefully as the main characters are introduced and the plot gets underway. These things have to be done but here they are executed painfully slowly.

Here is how I view Ford v Ferrari: it's got a competent but one-note performance from Matt Damon as well as several of the supporting cast; Christian Bale is good but uneven; a script that manages to balance a lot of ideas, but succeeds best with developing the characters; and a needlessly long running time and a very slow first act.

C

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