Ford v. Ferrari is an amazing movie that tells the true story of how the Ford motor company won the Le Mans sports-car race in 1966.
This movie seems like a racing movie, but it's so much more. It’s an underdog story, a father-son bonding, buddy-buddy relationship, romance, comedy, and action movie all rolled up into one, with each part executed to perfection.
The best aspect of this movie was its character development. Any movie will develop its main character, but the greatness of this movie was that it develop all of the supporting characters as well. The main character Ken Miles (played by Christian Bale) had many different relationships in the movie and each one brought out a different side of him.
We first see Miles as a passionate racecar driver and the movie explores his relationship with driving. It does a great job of showing that he isn't just a normal driver; he actually cares about and understands the sport.
While working on his car for a minor race, Miles’ friend and manager, Carroll Shelby (played by Matt Damon) is introduced to the audience. Miles’ relationship with Shelby shows us another side of Ken, a more fun and funny side. The more their relationship develops, the more we see this.
The next person we meet in the story is Ken's son Peter. Peter obviously looks up to his dad and cares about the sport as much as Ken does. As the movie progresses, we see a softer side to Ken through his relationship with his son - he acts a lot more mature around his son, as he tries to be a good role model.
Ken is also very sensitive to Peter’s feelings. For example, after he was harmed in a car fire, Ken tries to comfort Peter and we see a much more sensitive side to Ken. Miles’ kindness toward his wife Mollie also demonstrates this.
Another aspect that made this movie amazing was how realistic everything looked. The car races made you feet like you were actually watching a race in the 1960s. The filmmakers got exact replicas of period-era cars and all of the racing equipment looked very real (and this is coming from me, someone who watches a good amount of racing).
Smaller details were also extremely thought-out. The suburban neighborhood where Ken lived was made to look as if it were really the 1960s.
I also thought the camera work in this movie was amazing. The director gives us multiple awesome shots of cars that really get you excited. Seeing these loud cars drive by the camera as if coming out of nowhere really gets your adrenaline pumping.
I watch a lot of movies with my brother, a film director who went to the New York Film Academy. He taught me about how camera angles work and how hard it is to find the right shot. After watching this movie, you could tell how much thought went into each shot.
Even if you aren’t into racing, you can enjoy and appreciate this movie. It shows a completely different side to racing by detailing the politics involved. We see how the bureaucrats who ran Ford didn't want Ken to race their car, even though he was the superior racer, because Ken didn’t have “the look” that Ford wanted.
Besides that, as mentioned previously, it is just a beautiful movie. Yes, it is a movie about Ford winning a race, but it is truly a story of a man's life. Ken’s experiences teach us to have passion in everything we do and to live every moment to the fullest. It also reminds us how important good relationships are.
My main issue with this movie was the ending. After Ken finishes second in the big race, the audience will probably assume that Ken will come back next year to win. Instead, Ken’s character arc comes to an abrupt and unsatisfying ending.
I don't feel like his storyline was appropriately resolved; because he was the main character, Ken’s ending should have been dealt with in a better way. It was very upsetting to watch a movie that you think might be one of your favorite movies ever, only to have to walk out of the theater feeling unsatisfied.
While this movie ended in a way that I didn't enjoy, it was still one of my favorite movies the year. I really appreciated how the development of characters made me feel a strong connection to them. Overall, I would suggest this movie to anyone, whether you like racing or not.