Ford v Ferrari (2019) | aka Le Mans ’66

James Mangold continues his string of choice character-driven dramas with Ford v. Ferrari (aka Le Mans ’66 in most other parts of the world). This true story had been in Hollywood for decades before being made, with Mangold particularly keen to see it come to life since he first heard of it in 2011. He ended up putting it aside to do The Wolverine, leading to attempts by other filmmakers like Michael Mann and Joseph Kosinski and stars attached like Brad Pitt (in 2009) and Tom Cruise (in 2013).

Mangold eagerly scooped it back up in 2017 after making Logan, wanting to distance himself from filmmaking based on someone else’s pre-established intellectual property. The problem would be getting studio funding for a car racing movie that isn’t an over-the-top actioner like the Fast & Furious films. Fox was in the middle of being acquired by Disney, which may have made them make a bolder decision than customary to find a movie that ended up costing just short of $100 million. Mangold set to work from the script written for Michael Mann’s failed attempt to bring it to life in 2011 by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth. This script streamlined Jason Keller’s version from 2009, which split the story between Ford and Ferrari’s team equally). It also incorporated elements, including the name, of the 2010 non-fiction book, “Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans” by A.J. Baime. The Butterworths knew there were too many people involved to make it an economical film, even concentrating on just Ford’s side of things, both in money and run time. Mangold’s solution was to make it a film more about two main characters and their friendship leading up to one of the Le Mans races as the base of the story, rather than a sprawling epic that focused on every person involved over many years.

Most of the film surrounds the events leading up to France’s illustrious 24 Hours of Le Mans auto racing event, mostly glossing over Ford losses in 1964 and 1965 as roads poorly chosen. We start with Carroll Shelby, a former elite racecar driver, the first American driver to win at Le Mans, who retires into designing racecars and coaching the next generation of elite racers after finding out he has heart disease. The Ford Motor Company started to brand their vehicles to younger people who want style and sex appeal in the cars they buy. Ford seeks his services after plans to acquire the financially struggling Ferrari in 1963 fall through spectacularly, leaving both sides feeling insulted. Ford wants to show Ferrari, and the world, that they are more than just a company that can mass produce family vehicles. Shelby sets about building what would come to be known as the Ford GT40 model, trying to maximize power and minimize weight and drag to be the fastest racer on Earth.

Christian Bale, who worked with Mangold on the remake of the western 3:10 to Yuma in 2007, plays British racecar driver Ken Miles, sought by Shelby to help his test out his designs to give them a chance to come out on top in the grudge match between Ford and Ferrari. He’s skilled at what he does, but Henry Ford II wants him replaced by someone less of a loose cannon and willing to tow the Ford line to the media. Ken’s wife, Mollie, and his son, Peter, feel ambivalence about his quest to be the best. They want him to bring home the bacon, but they’re also afraid that he’ll be another casualty in the car racing arena who doesn’t get out of his car in time. Shelby must weigh his friendship and knowledge that Miles is the best shot to win with the needs of his funders, who are only in it to promote their brand.

At over 2.5 hours, Ford v. Ferrari is a long film. Just right for some, perhaps too long for others, but the instances where it drags are few. Mangold’s first cut of the film ran over four hours, so he trimmed down to the bare essentials. His best edit of everything Mangold wanted to capture had a run time of 3.25 hours, which was still too long for a commercial entertainment release that cost nearly $100 million to make. Two hours would cut too much, so he split the difference by making the best 2.5-hour film that he could. By best, though, he means a film that will satisfy the most audiences, of which isn’t necessarily the gearheads who he feels will want more technical information and historical accuracy that doesn’t lend well to crafting a commercially successful product. If you look under the good, it’s a crowd-pleasing effort, meant to leave most customers satisfied with their purchase, not the strive to be the perfect vehicle that will drive the company that produced it to its knees.

To save money on taxes and moving equipment, much of the locale work for the track racing took place in Georgia and California. Having to piece together races that take place in different locales at different times of day under a variety of weather conditions made it a challenge. Still, it ends up seeming seamless in the final product for most viewers who aren’t complete nitpickers. On top of this, all of the cars carry distinct sounds and sound different performing different speeds and maneuvers, at ground zero, in the pit, and on television. Couple the fantastic sound design with stellar cinematography and skillful editing, and you will see that there is a well-oiled machine running, both on the screen and off.

Although a sports movie, its story doesn’t easily conform to the traditional genre mold. It does develop the Ford team as underdogs as compared to Ferrari. Still, there isn’t an emphasis on winning and losing for the main protagonists so much as trying to challenge themselves to be the best at everything they do. Ferrari isn’t the antagonist so much as a challenger to overcome. The real heavies of the film coming from Ford itself. Leo Beebe, Ford’s micromanaging Senior Vice President, tries to undermine the maverick Shelby to get him to conform to the corporate vision he feels is necessary to the company’s ultimate goal of selling more cars. The film could have just as readily been called Perfection vs. Profit to show the tug of war for what people should be striving to achieve when they pour all of their time, energy, and resources into what they do.

Mangold and his screenwriters bring a softer and quieter side to the story, showcasing the home life of Ken Miles with his wife and young son. A filmmaker with less clout might have left out all of the domestic drama and concentrate solely on the business side of the corporate dealings to break up the on-the-track action. Still, our caring for Miles and his family makes his scenes go from exciting to real nail-biters because we have stakes in the well-being of the man under the helmet.  For that, we’re willing to indulge in some excess in the story for the sake of making it a smooth ride, even as the vehicle slows down in the post-race finale to try to sell it as an emotional drama more so than a film interested in sporting history.

Still, all would be for naught without the actors to round out these characters that we need investment into as something more than just cleanly drawn archetypes. Damon took the role because he wanted to work with Mangold and Bale; he does well centering the film with intelligence and grit. We don’t get enough background on Carroll Shelby to honestly know what makes him tick. Not that this is a mistake, as many who knew him considered Shelby a bit of an enigma, caught between conflicting interests as a salesman and as someone who genuinely cared about making his car designs the best possible. Christian Bale is the heart of the film, and his scenes with his family do manage to pay off in making Miles a bit of a folk hero worthy of rooting on as he drives everyone up the wall to achieve on-the-track perfection. Not enough kudos will go to Tracy Letts as Henry “The Deuce” Ford II. Letts provides just the right counterweight to give the impression of power while also feeling like he might be in a little over his head in running the top automobile company in the world at the time. Caitriona Balfe delivers the spunky appeal in her role as the adoring and supportive wife, as does Noah Jupe as the wide-eyed young son, even though their roles feel manufactured from a Hollywood assembly line to broaden the film’s sell-through.

Ford v. Ferrari is a film about racing, but it’s also about cinema. Mangold is not a racing fan and didn’t know the full story before taking it on. However, he delivers insight by making the on-screen drama akin to what he deals with off the screen as a director. In the world of racing, some do things for love, and those who do things for publicity and money. In the filmmaking process, Mangold wants to make the best movie that he can while also pleasing those who’ve put up the money to sell the picture to earn as much money and prestige as possible for their studio and brand. He may not know about racing, but he can identify with the plights of automobile purists like Ken Miles and Enzo Ferrari, who are figures who strive for perfection at the cost of financial security. The Ford Motor Company is run more like a studio, wanting sales above all else, but also to show they can make something of exceptional quality, which will further increase the appeal of their brand. Carroll Shelby, known to be a bit of a storyteller in real life, is like the director, like Mangold. He must take into account the perspective of those putting up millions for them to succeed, yet tread the line for those who are in the business for the love.

Historians may quibble at some of the liberties taken. Henry Ford II never got into a car and scared out of his wits by Carroll Shelby. Shelby never bet his entire company on the outcome of a race. Miles and Shelby’s disagreements never devolved into wrench throwing or fistfights. Enzo Ferrari was not in attendance at Le Mans 1966. But documentary recreations is not what Ford v Ferrari is about, which is to bend whatever facts are necessary to make audiences laugh, cry, cheer, and applaud at the appropriate times to come out feeling like it was time and money well spent. Mangold gets the film right where it should count, making highly propulsive and dramatically intense racing sequences. Part of this is due to nailing down the characters, their motivations, and their stakes. Emotional stakes in the drama raise our interest in seeing what happens out on the racetrack. The racing scenes are stylish without growing too stylized to distract from the excitement. We also get the emotion from several vantage points, from being inside the car along with Ken Miles, to what’s going on in the pit or spectator’s box, to what it’s like for Miles’ anxious family listening or viewing the race back home.

Ford v. Ferrari is not a high-precision racecar as a movie, however. It’s not something made for the purists, who will never love anything less than perfection, and what “perfect” is varies in the minds of every purist. It’s like the Ford Mustang; it’s not the best car they could make, it’s the best car they could make that many would want. It’s like a car meant to sell to people looking for nothing more than an enjoyable experience. It’s not a documentary, but a story to get us to get out of the ride feeling exhilarated. It will please those putting up the money, both in the studio and at the box office. It’s also a success in both regards, even if the purists – the racing experts and historians who wince at just about everything the film gets wrong – will not find the perfection they expect from their racing entertainment.

Qwipster’s rating: A-

MPAA Rated: PG-13 for some language and peril
Run time: 152 min.

Cast: Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Jon Bernthal, Noah Jupe, Ray McKinnon, Remo Girone, J.J. Feild, Jack McMullen
Director: James Mangold
Screenplay: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, Jason Keller