I will give it to them. I was moved by the father son riffs and fell into the trap of the classic sports movie cliches, especially at the end when we watch breathlessly as we see if he will win or not. I almost felt guilty for falling for this as it does seem so manipulative and predictable but the earnestness with which this film presents its story is just infectious so I decided to just enjoy it. The ending, based on true events, has that typically satisfying mix of muted triumph that lets us see a hero’s journey with just a tinge of regret.
Mangold made a beautiful film with Logan but here he exceeds that by making Ford into a gorgeous, sumptuous visual buffet, dripping with the sort pastel lushness that evokes the past. And I’ll hand it to Bale and Damon who both give the kinds of intricate performances we come to expect from these caliber of actor.
But.
I got bored. The film is every car racing movie (I even felt it evoked Pixar’s Cars) and pretty much every sports movie. It presents itself as an elaborate dick measuring story but thankfully moves past that to be a tribute to the lightly insufferable men who achieve something great, if by something great you mean building a fast car and driving it better than the next guy. Honestly I think I am just at the point where these stories bore me. What does that offer? I tried relating to the pursuing your dream ideal that in itself is a lovely idea, but again this film’s story is so dependant on a rather remote and exclusive class of dream, one that I have a hard time justifying as anything but indulgent, that it was difficult to get myself worked up for it.
And the film doesn't help by being so by the book. The story feels plotted so precisely from one event to the next. Establish problem for protagonists here. Insert character development moment here. Insert building humanizing moment here. Move plot forward.... and on and on. Ford v Ferrari felt like a text book on how to make Oscar bait.
When I say that I don’t mean it is bad. I just mean it held nothing of interest for me. I may have let myself enjoy some of its sentimentality because who doesn’t want that. But as soon as the credits rolled I was done and it was mostly forgotten.
This is that sort of film I can recommend to folks who maybe don’t see a lot of films and don’t seek a lot of radical ideas in their entertainment. Solid, well made, and engaging. It is completely accessible. But it is also as vanilla as any film hitting the awards circuit this year.
Ford v Ferrari
Starring: Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Jon Bernthal, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas
Director: James Mangold
Writers: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, Jason Keller
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