Sean’s Scene: Ford v. Ferrari
Built Ford Tough?
Ford v Ferrari is the most basic of basic Oscar bait movies. It’s a really simple story that hits all the right notes for something entertaining, and nothing much else beyond that. This means that the film in and of itself is incredibly entertaining. But it also means that once Oscar season is over you’re not likely to hear about it very much. This stems not just from how formulaic the entire design of the movie is, but also because it tries so hard to fill it in with enough content to justify it’s run time. There’s a lot of charm here that makes it a good movie, but there’s nothing here that makes it a “great” movie.
Ford v Ferrari tells the story of how Ford created a car that was able to compete against Ferrari in the Le Man’s race. A race that last twenty four hours. The rivalry begins with a botched deal in which Ford tries to buy Ferrari. After some insults are thrown at Henry Ford II, he decides he needs to build a car that will be able to beat Ferrari, and that’s what he invest his money in. Matt Damon plays Carroll Shelby, a man in charge of helping to build that car. Shelby recruits his friend Ken Miles (Christian Bale) to drive said car because Miles is the only one who can.
Despite everything, none of the drama in Ford vs. Ferrari actually has anything to do with the actual rivalry between Ford and Ferrari. To the point that the film’s title Ford v Ferrari feels misleading. The main tension and drama comes from the Ford company’s inability to see Ken Miles as “Ford material.” Miles has a more blue-collar like vibe about him. He fights and ruffles with people, he’s not always the nicest person, and he’s constantly at odds with the suits of Ford. If you couldn’t tell, Ford vs. Ferrari’s major theme throughout is class. This involves the Ford company thinking they know what’s best for the car, while Ken Miles knows what’s best because he’s actually driving it. This puts Shelby in the middle of things as he has to try and appease the suits, while knowing Miles — the average Joe — is the best one for the job of driving. After all, what do THOSE rich fat cats know about racing? How does Shelby please the suits, keep Miles as the driver and deliver a victory in Le Mans? By going about his ability to protect Ken Miles very carefully. Much of the film’s conflicts come from internal conflicts with Ford, but so much of this conflict is just… bland.
Despite what it looks like, however, the movie doesn’t really have any thematic bite to speak of. It’s the kind of movie that’s about “the little guy,” vs. “the big corporation.” And it’s no surprise that the movie falls on the side of the corporation, but the movie has little (if anything) it actually wants to say about this predicament aside from, “Oh, well…” It has moments where it shows how unfair this all is, but it never rises up to anything about it. It only sits around and pretends that none of that matters when it’s really about the love of racing and driving. This might be a great message for a film coming out in 2009, but in 2019 the message of, “Well, corporations will just be corporations…” isn’t going to hold as much weight for audiences. It’s a movie that makes an observation, but offers no thoughts about what it’s observing. It’s the kind of messaging that makes people say, “It’s just portraying the world as it IS, you know?” without offering any introspection or commentary on that. The average Joe doesn’t have to “win,” but it seems very odd to say nothing about the average Joe losing. If Ford v Ferrari didn’t beat you over the head with its themes of class, I might not mind that it has little to say about it, but this isn’t the case. Ford v Ferrari is reminding you of its class struggles constantly.
Ford v Ferrari hits all the typical sports drama notes as well. There’s getting the team together, the inner drama with the team itself, the collapse, the reunion (or the make up) and finally the big showdown at the end. Unfortunately Ford v Ferrari doesn’t really have enough to keep this whole thing going without getting a little long winded and bogged down from time to time. This is because with the exception of a few, the film isn’t really focused so much on characters. In fact, the movie is pretty basic in this regard all around. The suits at Ford are portrayed as know-nothing, rich fat cats, while the “opposition” at Ferrari are hardly in the film at all. They get to say insulting things and give menacing looks and that’s about it. To say the antagonists of the film are bland caricatures is an understatement.
On the other hand, all of that stuff aside, Christian Bale, and Matt Damon save the entire thing. No, really, they’re so good in this movie it’s worth buying a ticket JUST for them. Especially Christian Bale who never waivers in his commitment to playing Ken Miles. He’s funny, gives a graceful performance and makes every scene he appears in lovable. Matt Damon is no slouch either. Though he isn’t as charismatic as Bale, he’s still a treat on screen. The best part is that these two are the leads in the film, and they carry the whole thing. If they weren’t here, Ford v. Ferrari would be a long, boring movie. With them, however, the movie has charm, humor, and heart, which are three things that make the difference between the movie being entertaining and not. They also have the most screen time, and they lift up the scenes that start to drag on, and provide a sense of humanity in a film that severely lacks it without them.
That being said, it doesn’t save the movie from being formulaic, and while Bale and Damon are charming on screen, it’s not going to make you forget that every other character on screen is devoid of personality and bland. Nor is it going to make you forget that a movie that has class and “the working man” as a major theme has absolutely nothing to say about these things. It’s an entertaining enough movie, it’s just not one that reaches as far as it could. Each time Ford v Ferrari seems like it will say or do something poignant, it never delivers on this.
Ford v Ferrari is a mixed bag, but it falls mostly into the arena of being a good movie. It’s worth seeing for the main performances and humor, but it’s also a movie that doesn’t have any real depth. It’s able to stand on its charm alone, and I think for some viewers that will be enough — it certainly makes it more worthwhile than it otherwise would’ve been.
