by John Zenoni
Enjoyed watching a great new film tonight, ‘Ford v Ferrari.’ Even if you don’t know much about cars and racing in general, which I admit I do not, this is a very entertaining film. The story is actually based on real life events, which I found intriguing.
Matt Damon, a former race car driver, plays American automotive designer Carroll Shelby. He's hired by the Ford automotive company to assist in building a race car that can compete in and win the Le Mans race, held in France. He's friends with a British race car driver, Ken Miles, played by Christian Bale, who he convinces to work with him to try and create the race car that will beat those of Ferrari in Le Mans.
While the storyline might seem simple, it's really interesting to see how these two seemingly opposite men come together in this film and how they face up to the multi-million dollar executives of the car industry. What's incredible is that the Ford company didn't spend years creating a new race car to compete in the 1966 race but did it in a very short time frame.
The cinematography and sound in this film is amazing. You really feel as if you're on the racetrack itself every time a car scene comes on screen. I cannot imagine how these categories won’t at least be acknowledged for this film come Academy Award season.
As far as the performances, everyone in this film does a tremendous job but I have to say I think Christian Bale is the scene-stealer of the movie. He's just amazing and is a phenomenal actor - period. Matt Damon does a fine job, as well as Jon Bernthal, but it's Bale’s movie all the way. I would love to see him get recognition for this performance. I won’t give away the ending but will say it caught me off guard and I think it ended perfectly. This is a long film - 2 1/2 hours - but you don’t realize it because of the fast-paced action and intense performances.
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