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Award season tends to be a time for a whole lot of quiet, serious dramas about the human struggle. But that’s not the case for Ford v Ferrari, a noisy, high-energy drama about two men and their struggle to build a faster sports car.
Ford v Ferrari follows the Ford Motor Company’s quest to beat Ferrari in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In the 1960s, as the company’s sales are dropping, Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) suggests giving Ford a new, faster image by starting a racing team. When an attempt to buy Ferrari goes horribly wrong, they call in racer and designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and his team to build a race-worthy Ford. And with the help of hot-headed racer Ken Miles (Christian Bale), he sets out to put Ford on top.
On the surface, this is the story of big business: of a huge corporation trying to improve its bottom line by changing its image (and taking down a rival in the process). That’s what the title suggests. But while there are a whole lot of men in suits taking meetings and making their corporate decisions—and while they do bring extra drama and conflict to the story—Ford v Ferrari isn’t really about the guys in suits. It isn’t about the numbers and the sales reports. It’s about the guys at the track—the ones with the racing helmets, the stop watches, and the tools.
Mostly, it’s about two passionate characters: men with different lives, different personalities, but the same drive to go faster, to be the first across the finish line. They’re strong characters with strong personalities—and strong performances to match. Bale is remarkable as the eccentric racer who’s trying to balance his dreams with providing for his family, while Damon keeps things grounded as the racer-turned-businessman who tries his best to keep the suits out of their way.
The film definitely has its share of meetings and confrontations, but all of those chatty scenes are surrounded by noise and speed and intensity. The racing scenes give the film its energy and keep the pace racing along at breakneck speed. This isn’t a short movie, but it doesn’t feel long. Viewers will be too focused on the speed and the sound and the entirely immersive experience of the heart-pounding racing scenes to get bored.
If you enjoy the action and suspense of a little Sunday afternoon racing, you’ll want to check out this story of business, friendship, and speed. More than just an interesting story, it’s also an entertaining adrenaline rush of an award season drama.
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