There’s something incredibly alluring about the racetrack. Mercy to their instincts, drivers neglect caution for speed as they engage in a marathon of death-defying dances. Each one focused only on the next turn. Each one motivated only by a need to finish first. It is a near-complete metaphor for our very existence, an eternal fight for perfection, though necessarily improvised and victim to chance. In the words of Steve McQueen’s character in 1971’s Le Mans, “When you’re racing, it’s life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting.”
It’s this spirit that Ford v Ferrari so desperately tries to embody. The idea that at the highest speeds, one faces the ultimate test of character. Who are you to tempt the gods with your throttle? Who are you to go so fast? There’s magic in the question and ambition dripping from the answer. Such are the elements we live for. Unfortunately, the film never quite fills this glorious potential.
It’s definitely quite an entertaining picture. From the opening shots we are promised adrenaline and high stakes. It’s racing, after all. Director James Mangold doesn’t shy away from humor either, letting Christian Bale play the loosest, most expressive role we’ve seen from him in quite a while and generating a fair number of laughs in the process. Matt Damon, alongside him, doesn’t have the opportunity to do anything spectacular, but he’s solid in his role, nonetheless. Indeed, such is the general theme of the film. No one element is particularly unwelcome (save for a handful of puzzling sound cues), but little feels particularly impressive or worthy of note. For the most part, Ford v Ferrari is a traditional biopic with a little bit of racing.
Perhaps its biggest fault comes in its pacing. It is here that the film never takes its foot off the gas pedal, and clearly for worse. Mangold seems to insist on constantly operating at the highest level and with the most possible drama. As a result, we’re left with little to no time to reflect on emotional peaks and narrative climaxes. Despite a 153-minute runtime, we reach the end breathless and exhausted, no longer moved by the film’s most important scenes. Though such narrative pace and breathlessness is not inherently faulty, and works well in films such as Dunkirk, this film lacks the subtle mastery required to execute it well, and equally fails in providing a sufficiently satisfying ending to pull it all together. We’re unable to spend time with the emotions the film wants us to feel and we’re forced to always focus on the next bend in the story. It’s an unfortunate fault that cheapens a film otherwise ripe with potential.
All things considered, however, we’re still watching “life” on the screen. It’s an easy film to watch and an easy one to enjoy. If nothing else, it’s worth your time for Christian Bale’s fantastic command of classic English expletives. Enjoy it, then spend an equal amount of time afterwards ruminating on how much more it could’ve been.
3/5 STARS
