(Reviewed by our guest critic: The Movie Knight) If someone were to ask you to name a fast sports car, one of the first you might say is “Ferrari.” At the same time, it is unlikely “Ford” would be on your list at all. You may be surprised to learn that Ford once tried to buy the Italian company, only to be rebuffed. As a result, Henry Ford II vowed to build a racing car that could win the fabled Le Mans 24 Hour Race as a sort of “revenge” for the rejection. He brought in Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) to help design this new automobile and enlisted rugged, yet troubled driver, Ken Miles (Christian Bale), to finish off the team. However, constant corporate interference provided the biggest obstacle to a victory.
We are at the time of year where studios are looking to release more of their prestigious films hoping to better ranking for awards. Ford V Ferrari is the offering from Fox. They are sure to push the strong performances by both Damon and Bale along with the supporting cast and everyone behind the camera as well. However, the biggest standouts are supporting actress Caitriona Balfe who plays Miles’ wife, Mollie, and the editing team of Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker and Dirk Westervelt.
Balfe is hardly a household name, but executives should start paying attention to her now as she commands every scene she is in, including those she shares with her heavyweight co-stars. There is a “Wow” factor about her that makes one excited to see where her career goes next. At the very least, she should pick up many supporting actress nominations from this outing.
It’s not easy to make a 24-hour race look exciting, especially if you are someone who knows the history of these real-life events. Simply put, if the editing is bad on this kind of movie you are going to be spending more time concentrating on your popcorn than what is up on the screen. Thankfully, that is not the case, as all of the racing scenes are put together in a thrilling and fresh manner that may even have some audience members cheering by the end.
You don’t need to be a racing fan or a “car person” to enjoy this. There is a lot of great dry humor sprinkled throughout, making this a well-balanced picture. It’s powerful enough that it could even make some people want to look up the real history of these events. Any story that can do that is certainly well told.
3 Tiaras