“Ford v Ferrari” Movie is Tense, Timely, and Transcendent
The best American sports movies are never really about sports; they’re about vulnerable heroes striving to beat invulnerable foes. We don’t even need to see our heroes win — the pleasure is in seeing them try, and fight like hell. These films are fundamentally underdog stories, and James Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari is no exception. With Carroll Shelby’s team up against Enzo Ferrari and the Ford company, Ford v Ferrari is David versus Goliath versus Goliath.
For the uninitiated: it’s the 1960s, and Ferrari has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans five years in a row. In an attempt to boost sales and appeal to a younger generation, Ford tries to buy Ferrari — and fails. So Ford changes tactics, and decides instead to try beating Ferrari at Le Mans. The company seeks the help of Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) to build a race car that’ll do the job, and Shelby chooses just the right man to help him, his old friend and race car driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale). The suits at Ford keep interfering with Shelby and his team, however, and Ford racing director Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas) has it out for Miles, who’s just not a “Ford man.” Even if you already know how the story goes, the film is gripping.
