If you're unfamiliar with the titular race, you won't slip behind

Rating: 6/10 (16 November 2019)

If you're unfamiliar with the titular race, you won't slip behind. Le Mans '66 requires no prior interest in the sport in the same way that you don't need to be a boxing fanatic to enjoy Rocky. At heart, it's a character piece; a platonic romance between two men best able to express themselves behind the wheel. Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon, affable as ever) is a former racerturned-car designer. In the '60s he's hired by Ford to head up the ailing motor company's morale-boosting effort to win the famous 24 Hours Of Le Mans endurance race. And, more specifically, to beat the reigning Ferrari team while doing so.
Shelby brings in his buddy Ken Miles (Christian Bale) not only to help design the vehicle that Ford is betting the farm on, but also to drive it. The aptly named Miles is purely driven by his passion for the automotive arts and an unquenchable need for speed. Wayward Brummie accent aside, it's a lovely, warm performance from Bale. There's the trademark intensity - heightened by his geometrically sharp cheekbones - but here it's in service to a common goal, and a love of the sport. Miles doesn't suffer fools, but there's a sweetness to his family-man side and the sheer thrill he gets from racing, hooting things like "Giddy-up!" as he pushes the rev counter to its limit. If Miles is the heart of the team, Shelby's the head, bringing his own racing expertise to bear while also managing the expectations of the suits upstairs, including the irascible Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) and smarmy marketing type Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas). (There's a barely hidden filmmaking analogy here, as the creative visionaries struggle to keep their ideas on track while placating the needs of the executives.) Throw in Jon Bernthal as another, more amenable, exec and the cast starts to feel a little bloated, especially given that the two-hours-30 runtime is generous for a film on a largely predictable track. Bernthal's good, but did we really need another middle-man in the mix, given that Shelby already occupies that negotiator role?
Le Mans '66 truly roars into life during the racing scenes, particularly the final act show-stopper. The visceral, pulsequickening laps instantly join the canon of great race sequences, and they're a testament to the skill of director James Mangold and his team, equalling the set-pieces in any more obviously 'bankable' blockbusters. But Mangold's film isn't quite as compelling when not behind the wheel of a record-breaking sports car. For one thing, the US title Ford V Ferrari is somewhat misleading - yes, Ford are looking to unseat the Italian giants, but the latter are so little seen that there's never a palpable sense of a head-to-head rivalry. In their minimal screentime, the Italians come across as scowling stereotypes. And on the subject of stereotypes, Outlander's Caitriona Balfe is lumbered with a limited supportive-wife role as Mollie Miles. It's clear she knows her way around an engine, but she's rarely required to do more that squint with concern at a radio while her husband races. The family scenes don't quite get under the skin of Miles' compulsions in the way that First Man explored the more selfish aspects of Neil Armstrong's pursuits. It's on the physical side that Le Mans '66 really delivers - not only in the aforementioned races, but in the lo-fi mechanics, and the pit stops that canon of great race sequences, and they're a testament to the skill of director James Mangold and his team, equalling the set-pieces in any more obviously 'bankable' blockbusters. But Mangold's film isn't quite as compelling when not behind the wheel of a record-breaking sports car. For one thing, the US title Ford V Ferrari is somewhat misleading - yes, Ford are looking to unseat the Italian giants, but the latter are so little seen take an eternity in comparison to modern-day refuelling methods. The film is a visual treat, an expertly crafted piece of sun-burnished Americana, with no shortage of big-screen thrills. Mangold's career to date has seen a mix of straightforward blockbusters (Knight And Day, The Wolverine) and character pieces (Girl, Interrupted, Cop Land, Walk The Line) but, for all its strengths, Le Mans '66 doesn't straddle that divide as effectively as Mangold's last film, Logan, did.