Daniel Bruhl even beats Oscar bound Leonardo

Rating: 10/10 (20 January 2014)

Niki Lauder is among the most well known personalities in the history of Formula One. Even today millions of Germans watch his TV presentation at every race. We know his manner and speech extremely well and any actor portraying him faces an uphill if not impossible task.
But Daniel Bruhl delivers a performance so wonderfully convincing in his faithful and profound portrayal that he should clearly be among the Oscar nominees for Best Actor. The story of Lauda's famous struggle with Hunt in 1976 has become the stuff of legends. And perhaps this production has used some artistic license to enhance them.
But the film isn't really about the thrilling story of those events. That's just the vehicle for a much deeper drama examining the ever relevant dialectic between hedonism and pragmatism. It's about the self beneath the skin rather than the glamor of the surface: a concept normally quite alien to the Oscar awarding Hollywood elite. So poor Daniel Bruhl must await another vehicle to display his superb talents. And one day he might be remembered internationally in his career as Niki was himself.