James Mangold’s latest, his first feature since he knocked it out of the park with Wolverine’s final bow in Logan, is a thrilling true story titled Ford V Ferrari. It is also known as Le Mans ’66 in some territories, and while the two titles are kind of relevant, though the film is one that focuses mostly on a friendship, both professional and personal between Matt Damon’s racing legend Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale’s Ken Miles at its very heart.
Courtesy of TIFF
It is the 1960s and the racing circuit is being dominated by the prancing horse of Ferarri, at that time still run by Enzo Ferrari (here played by Remo Girone). Ford is seriously lagging behind in terms of races wins and cars capable of giving the motorsport giant a run for its money, so, the family-run business – Henry Ford II (Tracey Letts) at the helm – seeks out now-retired race-ace Shelby to put together a team worthy of beating the dominant Ferarri at the prestigious Le Mans 24 hour race in France.
With money being no object, Shelby turns to Ken Miles, a British driver and garage owner who is one of the very best in the business. The two clearly have a chequered history, but mutual respect is clearly present between them, so Miles is taken on by Shelby and the Ford team to drive their new car and also work behind the scenes of the newly formed team. The film charts the bumpy road to the huge Le Mans race of 1966 – hence that international title – and covers the rocky journey of a race team that, despite having all the money and talent, still finds themselves up against the prestigious, now Fiat-backed, and rich historied Ferrari.
The racing movie is a difficult one to crack. Not many films within the genre have been translated from the thrill and excitement of the race track to the movie screen, and I could name on one hand ones that are worth checking out. Thankfully James Mangold is one of the better ones. A lot of this is down to the building backstory from Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller’s script, and the superbly directed and photographed action on the track – director of photography Phedon Papamichael’s camerawork is, frankly, phenomenal. Couple that with break-neck editing and top-notch, booming sound design – listening to these engines roar in a decent cinema is up there with the very best of the year – and you have the perfect package for a deeply engrossing, highly polished perfect popcorn flick.
The acting too is note-perfect, a particular stand-out being Christian Bale (of course). Just months on from putting on a ton of weight and gaining an Oscar nod as Dick Cheney for Vice, the Welsh actor is trim and fit to play a believable race-car driver at the top of his game. With a Sutton Coldfield accent which is completely on-point – and characteristics and mannerisms that seemingly see him channeling real-life daredevil Guy Martin, Bale is a joy to watch in every single frame. Damon too is the best he’s been for many years, playing a real-life hero, a role that suits him perfectly.
Ford V Ferrari – or Le Mans ’66, depending on where you read this, is a flat-out fantastic, fast-charged dynamo of a movie that’ll have you gripped from start to finish. It does run a little long, but overall it is a completely rewarding piece, full of mindblowing craft and excellent performances – another Mangold classic to add to his rich and varied resume. It’s also, quite simply, one of the best racing films to have graced the screen.
Ford V Ferrari was reviewed at TIFF 2019.
