DVD Review: Ford v Ferrari

Ford v Ferrari
(DVD Ford)

First of all, I have to admit that I’m not really a fan of automotive racing — although growing up, it was something of a family tradition around Memorial Day to watch the coverage of the Indy 500. That being said, I do enjoy both Matt Damon and Christian Bale as performers, and was happy to take Ford v Ferrari around the track.

Ford v Ferrari looks back at the rivalry in the early 1960s between the U.S. Ford Motor Co. and the Italian Ferrari automobile manufacturing company, which came to a head when Ford hired legendary driver Carroll Shelby to design a new race car that could take down Ferrari in the annual 24-hour Le Mans race. Damon plays Shelby, who brings in his friend and fellow driver Ken Miles (played by Bale) to assist in the design and test-driving of the new vehicle. Personality conflicts with Ford management lead to Miles not being allowed to drive, and the crux of the drama in this film — beyond the “will they or won’t they win at Le Mans” — is the interpersonal relationships between the major characters.

The performances in Ford v Ferrari are all excellent, especially from Damon and Bale, but also from many in the supporting cast, including Caitriona Balfe and Noah Jupe as Miles’ wife and son, Jon Bernthal as a young Lee Iacocca, Tracy Letts as Henry Ford II and Ray McKinnon as Phil Remington. The production design is impeccable, giving the film a completely believable feeling of its mid-1960s setting. The racing footage, a combination of “real” and “computer generated images” is great — I literally couldn’t tell which footage was CGI.

So…if you’re a fan of car races, or an admirer of well-done dramatic films, this is highly recommended.

[As I mentioned, I haven’t seen a lot of “car race” films, but of those I have seen, I’d recommend Le Mans (a 1971 Steve McQueen film) and Grand Prix (a 1966 James Garner film).]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Ford v Ferrari web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library – Public Services

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