Ford v Ferrari follows the true story of Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles, two men who built a car that beat Ferrari at the 1966 Le Mans race. The film turns that engine war into a character study about ambition, loyalty and the cost of winning. It is a fast, loud, sentimental machine of a movie, and it mostly works.
Trailer, via 20th Century Studios.
Shelby and Miles
The film opens with Shelby (Matt Damon) being hired by Ford to build a car that can beat Ferrari. He finds Miles (Christian Bale), a driver whose talent is matched only by his temper. Their partnership is the engine of the whole story. Shelby is the idea man, Miles is the driver, and the film spends its early hours establishing why they work together and why they fight.
Bale carries the weight of Miles. He is a man of few words, quick to anger, and completely committed to the race. His performance is the best thing in the film, a portrait of a man who cannot separate himself from the machine he drives. Damon plays Shelby as the calm counterweight, the man who understands that Miles needs a leash and a purpose. The two actors play off each other with a chemistry that feels earned rather than staged.
The Car
The actual car takes a leading role here. The GT40 is a beautiful beast, and the film lets it breathe. Long shots of the car being assembled, tested and raced are a pleasure to watch. The sound design is excellent, with engines roaring and tires screaming in a way that feels both accurate and thrilling. This is a film that loves its machinery, and it shows.
The racing sequences are the highlight. The film compresses the 1966 Le Mans race into a tense, exhilarating hour that captures the chaos of the track. Cars crash, engines fail, and the tension between Shelby and Miles reaches a peak as Miles pushes the car to its limits. The final lap, where Miles wins the race, is a moment of pure cinema. It earns its emotional payoff because the film has spent two hours building the stakes.
The Supporting Cast
The rest of the cast is solid but less central. Josh Brolin plays Henry Ford II, the Ford executive who commissions the project and is later sidelined by the pressure of the race. Caitriona Balfe plays Miles’ wife, who supports him through the strain of the competition. Jon Bernthal plays Peter Gregg, the Ford engineer who helps build the car. These characters fill out the world of the film, but they are not given the same depth as Shelby and Miles.
The film also touches on the politics of the race. Ford is a corporate sponsor, and the film shows how the company’s interests conflict with the drivers’ desire to win. There is a scene where Shelby has to make a difficult decision about whether to push the team to break a rule. It is a small moment, but it adds texture to the story.
The Flaws
The film is not perfect. The supporting characters are thin, and some plot threads are left unresolved. The pacing is uneven, with stretches of exposition that slow down the momentum. The film is also very white, with no significant female characters beyond Miles’ wife. These are minor complaints, but they keep the film from reaching greatness.
The script, written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and Jason Keller, leans heavily on dialogue that feels too neat. Characters explain things they should not need to explain. The film also overexplains its own history, pausing to remind viewers of the significance of the race. These moments are jarring, pulling the viewer out of the story.
The Score
The music is a mix of period pop and orchestral swells. It is competent but unremarkable. The film relies more on its images than its sounds, and the score stays out of the way during the races. It is a serviceable accompaniment, nothing more.
The Verdict
Ford v Ferrari is a film about obsession, and it is obsessed itself. It is obsessed with its cars, its engines, its tracks, its victories. That obsession is contagious, and it makes for a compelling two hours. The film is not subtle, but subtlety is not what it is going for.
What matters is that it delivers on its promise. It tells a true story with energy, style and heart. It respects its audience enough to let them feel the speed of the race, and it respects its subjects enough to let them be complicated people. The film is a love letter to a particular kind of engineering and a particular kind of passion.
It is not a masterpiece, but it is a very good film. It knows what it wants to be and it gets there.
Key Facts
– Title: Ford v Ferrari
– Director: James Mangold
– Writers: Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, Jason Keller
– Lead actors: Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Josh Brolin, Caitriona Balfe, Jon Bernthal
– Runtime: 152 minutes
– Release year: 2019
– IMDb score: 8.1/10
Ranking the Performances
1. Christian Bale as Ken Miles
2. Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby
3. Josh Brolin as Henry Ford II
4. Caitriona Balfe as Miles’ wife
5. Jon Bernthal as Peter Gregg
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