Movie Review : Ford v Ferrari (2019)
Sometimes, I do things simply for the pleasure of not knowing what to expect. Driving to somewhere I’ve never been, putting new and exciting food in my mouth or watching films that I really have no interest in because I want to be surprised. That’s how I ended up watching Ford v. Ferrari, an Oscar nominated biopic about a forgotten pissing contest between billionaires. I wanted my evening to be unexpectedly entertaining. It almost was.
Ford v Ferrari is…. well, the story of a feud for car racing supremacy between the titular Henry Ford II (professional what’s-his-face guy Tracy Letts) and Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone). The latter is tearing it up at long distance racing and winning 24h of Le Mans every year. That’s until Ford hires one of the only American winners and car design genius Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and his speed freak pilot Ken Miles (Christian Bale) to challenge Ferrari’s dynasty.
A movie like Ford v Ferrari is a hard sell in 2020. Fifteen years ago, it would’ve pocketed the Oscar for Best Picture without second thoughts, but on a basic screenwriting level it has become difficult to care about the stakes. I mean, who gives a shit if Henry Ford’s son doesn’t beat Enzo Ferrari in a car racing event? Our two cowboy heroes are basically paid employees who are glad to be there, doing their best and trying to make their boss look good.
I understand that it happened for real. That you can’t change facts, even Ford Motors’ shitty corporate policies which arbitrarily shit on Carroll and Ken’s parade. It happened the way it happened. But I don’t understand why the “bigger picture” was so important to a movie about two guys maniacally cranking up cars against their best interest. Henry Ford II is portrayed like an impotent executive and I didn’t give a shit about what he or his lackeys wanted.
What I wanted was more of Carroll and Ken.… well, especially Ken beating the odds. What this movie does extremely well is to portray the emotional complexity of underachievers. It’s equal part writing and Christian Bale tearing it up. In one scene, Ken is denied racing in 1965’s edition of Le Mans because he’s not marketable and instead of walking away like most self-respecting people would, he stays in the garage and follows the race on the radio.
Anyone with a low self-esteem and a passionate nature is going to feel that one deeply. That fucking just-grateful-and-happy-to-be-here mindset.
Ford v Ferrari is neither very bad nor very good. It’s portrayed to be a moment of great national pride, shedding light on the true craftsmen of Ford’s win against Ferrari and yet it’s not very critical of Ford at all. Even though the winning pilot Miles was British. It’s just telling you: “that happened, pretty much everyone complied to stupid corporate guidelines and they were kind of fine with it. That made for a movie that I was simply kind of OK with.
It’s slickly made with that Oscarized aesthetic, tugs at your heartstrings at the appropriate moments and even provides scenes of genuine emotion. It’s just one of these: look at the real American heroes behind the corporate facade that doesn’t hit the spot. Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles did the heavy lifting and got a mouthful of shit for their troubles. Your appreciation will vary depending on how much you care about cars, but I was not exactly entertained.
Oh, Jon Bernthal is also in this movie. That doesn’t make it more or less interesting, though.
6.5/10
