★★★★
American car designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference, the laws of physics and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford and challenge Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966.
Classification: 12A
An exhilarating, pulse-pounding experience of incredible speed and performance. Both from the cars and actors as Matt Damon and Christian Bale soar through the impeccable direction from James Mangold. Expertly paced, the tension both on and off the race track makes Le Mans' 66 an immersive and captivating tale out of the true story of Ford vs. Ferrari. The Ford Motor Company wanting to find new relevance in modern America to boost profits seeks to invest in a racing programme, after being snubbed and humiliated by Enzo Ferrari, Henry Ford II vows to defeat the Italian car company at the illustrious 24 hours of Le Mans. Sending executive Lee Iacocca to find the best drivers and engineers to build his champion race car, former Le Mans champion Carroll Shelby now all American car designer and volatile race car driver Ken Miles are recruited to defeat the seemingly impossible Ferrari.
Le Mans' 66 has an incredible classic style to it, Mangold builds his film just like Shelby and Miles builds their car, stripping away all the useless filler and focusing on what makes the film move at a pace that feels fresh and new. It captures the idealism of the period focusing on creative spirit fighting against corporate interference, with the film focusing less on the arbitrary feud between two car companies but between the real struggle that Shelby and Miles have in dealing with the Ford Motor Company. While Damon's Shelby has the reputation, celebrity and swagger, complete with a black Stetson to be seen shaking hands with Henry Ford II, the middlemen executives find Christian Bale's Ken Miles to be beneath their company image. Bale once again transforms with his performance as Miles, not due to the character's stubbornness or chemistry with his co-stars particularly Damon and Caitriona Balfe who portrays his wife, Mollie Miles but in he how he embodies his characters ultimate philosophy in every scene. Ford seeks victory, profit, and image, its all about the business of perception with them but Shelby sees that Miles is seeking something far more meaningful and champions this while trying to be the referee to Ford's bloodhounds.
It's the business of perfection that Miles seeks, "The Perfect Lap" he calls it and he's not driven by the thrill of victory although he doesn't mind winning to make his family proud or prove himself better. Miles is all about the pure perfection of skill, the union of man and machine, Mangold fills the film with Miles passion for the machine, speaking to it, experimenting with it on the tracks and risking his life to find that excellence needed to defeat Ferrari. Bale portrays Miles in a recognisable mixture of pride, tenacity, and being unrelentingly headstrong in his beliefs, he's loveable but so real in how his emotional flaws keep him from achieving success like Shelby. The relationship between the two is phenomenal as Mangold makes this entire film about performance, it's the passion from Damon and Bale that sells the technobabble and makes the film feel more about a family than a race track.
While Damon and Bale captivate with every scene, their supporting cast is nothing to scoff at with Mangold having every actor playing to their strengths. Caitriona Balfe and Noah Jupe as Miles' wife and son give the film a strong emotional core to the dangers the characters face. Balfe and Bale have amazing chemistry especially since the film refuses to have Mollie play the spiteful wife, an amazing scene having her argue with Bale about his decision not to race as she continuously accelerates their station wagon to breaking point. Jon Bernthal is suave and charming as Iacocca and looks very Draper-esque thanks to Daniel Orlandi'sc 60s style costume design. Josh Lucas brings the slime as the perfect loathsome corporate lackey who finds Shelby and particularly Miles' brand of character to be insulting to Ford's image. A shoutout to Ray McKinnon, the beloved character actor who lends his wise and charismatic talents to be Shelby's right-hand man Phil "Pops" Remington, giving the film even more credibility in how McKinnon commands expository dialogue and remains a pillar of authenticity.
One of the more interesting themes to Le Mans '66 is the notion of legacy and how does one define themselves to be remembered. Both Shelby and Miles are men creating their own legacies through perseverance and skill but its Tracy Letts' performance as Henry Ford II that really makes the idea captivating. Letts captures the weight and power to the man but also allows the briefest of insights into his insecurities about his birthright, as Remo Girone's Enzo Ferrari shall claim "You are not Henry Ford, you are Henry Ford the second". Ford's legacy is not his own and Lett's uses this notion to make the character more than just a typical businessman, his family history is connected to American exceptionalism and the very idea of the American dream. Enzo Ferrari is a self-made man, Carroll Shelby is a self-made man, Ken Miles is a self-made man, Henry Ford II is a man with his grandfather's name and an army of sycophants who don't know the difference and Letts' has his character live with this difficult truth.
Ford wishes to crush Ferrari but delegates the task to what he believes are lesser men, It's his name and his money but he is unintentionally asking Shelby to reinvent the very idea of what a Ford Motor is. Le Mans '66 is all about art clashing against business because while motor racing is a sport, the way that Mangold shows the meticulous methodology to Damon, Bale, and McKinnon's efforts to create this car is nothing short of artistry. It's science and engineering at its best and the film can't stop coursing pure adrenaline in its veins as it balances the racing and humanity of the film superbly well. Essentially it becomes a battle about whose legacy shall Le Mans belong to; those that built the car or those that paid for the car with all the complicated relationships and rivalries in between.
François Audouy, a frequent Mangold collaborator delivers a superb production design for Le Mans '66 from the Shelby Hangar's filled with mechanics, machines and tools, the race track dugouts or the Californian sun shining down on the perfect recreations of the early 60s. Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael takes this a step further in the execution of the actual races as a combination of special effects, practical effects and the pure power of Christian Bale make them unforgettable cinematic experiences. The film is brimming with story and uses its 150 minutes with precision so that there is an escalation to how Mangold brings the racing to the audience. Not just in scale but in how each race is tied into the personal connections, Miles has with his family and to the friendship Miles and Shelby have with one another. The film is reflective of the team effort needed to win a race with every department bringing their A-game when they are called upon.
Gorgeous and moving, through the excitement and emotion of its story and characters Le Mans '66 is an unflinching celebration to the spirit of the men that defied both Ford and Ferrari. In the shadows of giants both Shelby and Miles along with their supporters create something incredible and Mangold takes the audience on a journey to reflect that astounding accomplishment. Soaring at a technical and sentimental level, it's more than nostalgia that drives Le Mans '66 to its victory lap but in how it's built as a classic star-driven drama that creates its best moments from the empathy of its characters rather than relying on the spectacle of the cars. The spectacle is still there and shining bright but it's clear that Mangold is both honouring the legacies of his characters but also those that inspired him as a filmmaker.
Director: #JamesMangold
Cast: #MattDamon, #ChristianBale, #CaitrionaBalfe, #JonBernthal, #TracyLetts, #JoshLucas, #NoahJupe, #RemoGirone, #RayMcKinnon
Release Date: November 15th 2019
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Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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