FORD:^ MERRICK
MORTON/TWENTIE
TH
CE
NTURY^
FOX.^ WA
VES: COURTESYOFA^24.PHOTO:
SERGIO^GARCIA^Congratulations to our Rising Stars of Canada
HUMBERLY GONZALEZ SHANNON KOOK JESSICA MATTEN
Ford v Ferrari
Christian Bale and Matt Damon excel in James Mangold’s
smart, compelling drama about Ford’s efforts to
beat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans By Todd McCarthy
OPENS Friday, Nov. 15 (Fox)
CAST Matt Damon, Christian Bale,
Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts
DIRECTOR James Mangold, 152 minutesLee Iacocca got it into their heads
to produce a race car that could
displace the Italians, which
seemed like a joke at the time.
Screenwriters Jez Butterworth,
John-Henry Butterworth and
Jason Keller have hammered
together a solid three-act struc-
ture that invites quick investment
in some hard-nosed but likable
people, provides combative
character dynamics and gives the
central figure, Miles, full treat-
ment when it comes to his racing
smarts, ambitions and family life.
With director James Mangold
showing a sure hand throughout,
amusing early scenes contrast
the corporate cultures at Ferrari
and Ford. Dedicated to quality
and class, Enzo Ferrari (Remo
Girone) presides over his empire
like a cross between a medieval
lord and a mafia boss and looks
down on Ford as a prince would
a peasant. If anything, however,
Ford (Tracy Letts, fantastic) is
an even more terrifying figure,
a large man who makes under-
lings quake in his presence.
Ford can sometimes surprise
with his edicts, and he instructs
Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) to doCharacters can seldom compete
with cars in auto racing movies,
but that’s not the case with Ford
v Ferrari, a full-bodied, excit-
ing true-life story in which the
men behind the wheels are just
as dynamic as the machines.
Fronted by very fine lead turns by
Christian Bale and Matt Damon
as, respectively, Ken Miles and
Carroll Shelby, this is a well-built
vehicle in every respect.
In the world of international
racing heading into the 1960s,
nobody could touch Ferrari. But
during a company downturn,
Henry Ford II and his lieutenantTelluride
Film
Festivalwhatever is necessary to give the
company a winner.
The men who might be able to
give life to Ford’s dream are drawn
with both virtues and flaws. After
a successful racing career, Shelby
signs onto Ford’s project of creat-
ing a car that could win the 24
Hours of Le Mans, which Shelby
had won in 1959. And he endures
any number of speed bumps in
enlisting temperamental Miles for
the wacky but enticing project. At
the outset, Miles, a British emigre,
is working as a mechanic in L.A.,
where he lives with wife, Mollie
(a luminous Caitriona Balfe). But
Miles is talented and knows cars,
so he and Shelby become Ford’s
unlikely ticket to racing greatness.
The third act is devoted to the
1966 24-hour French driving
marathon, in which two drivers
take turns piloting their cars
through day and night. It’s grip-
ping stuff, but Ford v Ferrari’s
effectiveness owes even more
to the bristly, complex nature of
every relationship in the film.Christian Bale (right) and Matt Damon
play racing legends Ken Miles and Carroll
Shelby, respectively.