Le Mans ’66 (2019)- BFI London Film Festival 2019

Review

152min

Genre:     Fact-based, Action, Drama, Sport

Director:  James Mangold

Cast:       Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Caitriona Balfe…and more

Writers:   Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and Jason Keller

-Synopsis-

Determined to dethrone the dominant Ferrari team at the 1966 24 Hours Le Mans race, automotive designer and engineer Carroll Shelby teams up with indomitable driver Ken Miles and a team of eccentric engineers to build the Ford company a competitive car and make history, in this biographical racing drama from the director ‘Walk the Line’ and ‘Logan’.

No film enthusiast worth their salt should be a stranger to an extraordinary true story being stylishly splashed on the silver screen Hollywood style, and most will probably be a sucker for a classic underdog tale, with some even partial to the relatively rare race movie. Now armed with two Hollywood superstars and a chronicle of 20th century automotive history, director James Mangold combines them all into the tightly packaged chassis of an outsider character study and turbocharged period piece—delivering a bolshie, fast-paced tale of good ‘ole fashioned American can-do attitude and classic British fighting spirit.

Matt Damon stars as smooth-talking Texan automotive engineer Carroll Shelby, recruited by Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) of the Ford Motor Company in the mid 60s to help spice up their stuffy corporate image and build some prestige—on behalf of its hard-nosed CEO Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts)—charged with building a car to challenge six time consecutive winners Ferrari on short notice at the infamous ’24 Hours of Le Mans’ race. Enter blunt and combative British racing ace Ken Miles (Christian Bale), who helps to push this herculean effort over the line, constantly clashing with the bureaucratic Ford brass and its head pencil-pusher Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas), while supported by his understanding wife Mollie Miles (Caitriona Balfe)—on the way to making automotive history.

Like all Hollywood depictions of history, ‘Le Mans ’66’ (aka Ford v Ferrari) takes artistic license when it comes to events, their chronology, and people, vilifying certain figures while sanctifying others, condensing several moving parts into one American tale of sticking it to those pesky and tricksy Italians—neglecting to mention that this mighty engineering endeavour in reality had plenty of Italian and loads of British participation. But this isn’t a film made for professional engineers and amateur historians—although there’s plenty for them and motoring enthusiasts to enjoy—this is a film for the masses, with plenty of gears for the audience to go through.

As Ron Howard did with 2013 James Hunt and Niki Lauda biopic ‘Rush’, Mangold puts the audience in the passenger seat for a stylised but faithful and dynamic racing experience—with all the sights and sounds, overtakes and crashes to match—but from an earthier road car perspective, adorning the film with enough classic roadsters and muscle cars to make any pertrolhead swoon. Indeed this is very much a blue collar American story,  designed to reflect the racing rivalry at the heart of the story, plus the clash of corporate ideologies and oversized egos which drove it. Hence the strong gearhead and grease monkey sensibilities, almost as if you can smell the petrol fumes through the screen, with the cars, distinctive characters, and colourful language to match—woven into a wonderful period aesthetic with top notch production designs, including recreating a long gone race track, and all expertly captured by cinematographer Phedon Papamichael.

Yet beneath the revving engines, warm exhaust fumes, and a driving score from Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, ‘Le Mans ’66’ is really a classic character piece, and a tale of intrepid outsiders who don’t fall off a production line. Despite it dazzling you with style and turbocharged visuals, at a two-and-a-half hour runtime ‘Le Mans ’66’ ultimately sits on the shoulders of its two accomplished leads who lend their considerable charisma to two disparate characters—one an affable smooth-talking Texan, the other a combative and blunt Brit—two sides of the same automotive coin, joined by the petrol flowing though their veins and the V8s pumping in their chests.

Despite its merits though, ‘Le Mans ’66’ is hardly a racing classic or an unforgettable biopic. It’s overly long and slightly baggy—although never to the point of tedium or threatening to stall—and as far as stranger-than-fiction true stories go, not exactly the most captivating for a general audience, never completely capturing the imagination or stirring the soul. And while it certainly boasts stylish race action sequences, they’re not exactly plentiful or high-octane enough to capture the ‘Fast & Furious’ crowd, or energise the film as much as you might like.

But this was never going to be that sort of film, and ultimately Mangold gets the balance between character and spectacle right for what he wants to convey—a muscular but lively character drama and a stylish period piece racing flick, with plenty of attitude and moxie, triumphant but with a bittersweet twist and ultimately tinged with tragedy.

The Bottom Line…

A fuel-injected little Hollywood history lesson and classic can-do underdog tale. With ‘Le Mans ’66’ James Mangold tilts the drama/spectacle balance towards a sturdy go-getter character piece about self-styled outsiders, but provides plenty of style and just about enough action to entertain a general audience, casual automotive fans . . . and perhaps even a few non accuracy-obsessed motor racing devotees.

‘Le Mans ’66’ is out on the 15th of November in UK and US cinemas.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Rush (2013)

During the mid 70s and at the pinnacle of global motor racing, suave British Formula One driver James Hunt faces off against blunt and calculating Austrian racer Niki Lauda, a clash of styles and cultures which would create a legacy for the sport and help define one of its more dangerous but invigorating eras—in this high-octane period biopic from acclaimed director Ron Howard.

Directed by Ron Howard and starring Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl and Olivia Wilde among others.

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