A well-told story that balances high octane car races with genuine drama

Rating: 9/10 (30 January 2020)

Ford v Ferrari is a biographical drama film directed by James Mangold (Logan, Walk The Line, Girl, Interrupted). Starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale, it is a well-told story that balances high octane car races with genuine drama.
In 1963, the Ford Motor Company recruits famous racecar driver Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) to assist them with designing a car that will help them beat their arch rivals Ferrari at the Le Mons race in France. To aid him with such a task, Carroll decides to enlist the help of British mechanic and fellow racer Ken Miles (Christian Bale) to test for any flaws and eventually race in the finished product itself. At first, the two of them make great progress, however Ken's brash personality and blunt honesty puts him at odds with the higher ups at Ford, causing the company to believe he may not be the right person to be racing their car and representing them abroad.
With its fast pacing and heartfelt drama to match, Ford v Ferrari rises above the typical car racing film to become one of the most interesting portraits of an intense rivalry in recent memory. The film isn't so much about the cars themselves as as it is about staying relevant in the public eye and maintaining a respectable image. From the very beginning, we are given the idea of how desperate Ford are to shake off their reputation of being perceived as making outdated cars that only one's grandparents would drive. This is juxtaposed with the cool and hip-looking Ferrari being presented as more appealing to younger potential motorists. The resulting races are used to further the film's plot and aren't merely there for mindless entertainment. While it may be obvious to some viewers what the eventual outcome truly is, it is certainly a lot of fun anticipating what happens along the way.
Director James Mangold successfully strikes the correct balance between car racing action and realistic human drama, so much so that virtually all audiences should be able to find something to be entertained by. His choices in editing and cinematography help move the film along at a breathless speed as we watch cars zoom past at high acceleration, sometimes resulting in some intense crash scenes. There are times though, where some of the mechanical jargon may prove confusing to non-racing enthusiasts such as myself as I did end up scratching my head at a few scenes where certain important car parts were being discussed by the characters. In addition to this, I wasn't quite sure about how some of the rules of the race track were showcased in the film, as it felt somewhat glanced over. Fortunately, these moments are infrequent and are often counteracted by the great acting of the film's leads.
Christian Bale is such a joy to watch as Ken Miles, the unapologetic perfectionist racer who wants to push the limits of what a car can do. It caught me off-guard at first hearing him use his native British accent while surrounded by other Americans as I am so used to seeing him play only American characters. Matt Damon gave a nice performance as well, but I feel that he was overshadowed by Bale in most scenes. This is due to Damon essentially being the straight man to Bale's outspoken antics which did cause me to focus more on Bale instead.
Overall, even if you aren't a huge fan of car racing films like me, this one contains more than enough entertainment to satisfy even the most car illiterate of audiences. The historic value of the depicted event makes for a solid drama and could possibly bring a newfound amount of respect to this genre in the near future.
I rate it 8.5/10