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Ford v Ferrari

Overview

Ford v Ferrari

director	James Mangold
producer	Peter Chernin Jenno Topping James Mangold
writer	Jez Butterworth John-Henry Butterworth Jason Keller
starring	Matt Damon Christian Bale Jon Bernthal Caitríona Balfe Tracy Letts Josh Lucas
music	Marco Beltrami Buck Sanders
cinematography	Phedon Papamichael
editing	Michael McCusker Andrew Buckland
production companies	Chernin Entertainment Turnpike Films
distributor	20th Century Fox
runtime	152 minutes‡R1R‡
country	United States
language	English
budget	$97.6 million
gross	$225.5 million‡R2R‡‡R3R‡

Ford v Ferrari (titled Le Mans '66 in some European countries)[4] is a 2019 American biographical sports drama film directed by James Mangold and written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller. It stars Matt Damon and Christian Bale, with Jon Bernthal, Caitríona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Remo Girone, and Ray McKinnon in supporting roles. The plot follows a determined team of American and English engineers and designers, led by automotive designer Carroll Shelby and his English driver, Ken Miles, who are hired by Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca to build a race car to defeat the perennially dominant Italian racing team Scuderia Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France.

Ford v Ferrari had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 15, 2019, by 20th Century Fox to critical and commercial success; critics praised the performances (particularly Bale and Damon), Mangold's direction, the editing, the sound design and the racing sequences, and it was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the ten best films of the year. At the 92nd Academy Awards, the film received four nominations, including Best Picture, and won Best Film Editing

Plot

In 1963, Ford Motor Company vice president Lee Iacocca proposes to Henry Ford II to boost their car sales by purchasing Ferrari, dominant in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Owner Enzo Ferrari uses Ford's offer to secure a deal with Fiat that allows him to retain ownership of the firm's racing team, Scuderia Ferrari, and insults Ford and his whole company. This leads Ford into ordering his racing division to build a car to compete against Ferrari at Le Mans and Iacocca hiring Shelby American owner Carroll Shelby, a retired driver who won Le Mans in 1959. Shelby enlists his friend Ken Miles, a hot-tempered English racing driver and mechanical engineer.

Shelby and Miles develop the UK-built Ford GT40 Mk I prototype at Los Angeles International Airport while the latter gives advice on how to enhance the car's performance. At the launch of the new Ford Mustang, Miles gives a witheringly rude appraisal of it to Ford senior vice president Leo Beebe. Beebe campaigns against sending Miles to the upcoming race at Le Mans as a public relations liability. Shelby reluctantly excludes Miles and sends Phil Hill and Bruce McLaren to Le Mans; none of the Fords finish. Miles, who is listening on radio, realizes that he was right on all the car's flaws.

When Ford demands why he should not sack Shelby, Shelby explains that despite the GT40's reliability problems, it instilled fear in Enzo Ferrari by reaching 218 mph (350.8 km/h) on the Mulsanne Straight before breaking down. He says a race car cannot be designed by committee. Ford tells him to continue the project and report directly to him. During testing of the GT40 Mk II, the recurrent problem of brake fade causes a crash and fire, which Miles survives. The team realizes the rules permit replacing the whole brake assembly during the race.

In 1966, Beebe takes over the racing division. When he and Ford arrive to inspect the program, Shelby locks Beebe in his office and gives Ford a ride in the GT40. Shelby makes an agreement with Ford: if Miles wins the 24 Hours of Daytona, then he will race at Le Mans. If not, Ford will take full ownership of Shelby American. At Daytona International Speedway, Beebe enters a second GT40 supported by a NASCAR team with quicker pit stops. However, Shelby clears Miles to push his car beyond the 7,000 RPM redline, and he wins.

At the next race at Le Mans, Miles struggles with a faulty door during the first lap. The pit crew fixes it, and Miles sets lap records, catching the Ferraris. The GT40 suffers brake fade while dicing with the prototype 330 P3 Ferrari of Lorenzo Bandini, so Miles limps into the pits for replacement of the entire braking system. Ferrari protests, but Shelby assures race officials it is legal.

Miles and Bandini duel on the Mulsanne Straight until the Ferrari breaks down, putting Bandini out of the race. With Fords in the top three positions, Beebe orders Shelby to have Miles slow down for the other Fords to catch him and give the press a three-car photo finish. Shelby tells Miles what Beebe wants but says it is Miles's call. Miles initially continues to set new lap records but decides to comply on the final lap.

McLaren is declared the winner as, having started behind Miles, his car traveled farther overall. Miles is placed second. Shelby accuses Beebe of deliberately costing Miles the win, but an unusually sanguine Miles lets it pass, saying to Shelby, "You promised me the drive, not the win." From his vantage point, Enzo Ferrari tips his hat to Miles on the track. As they walk off together, Shelby tells Miles they will win Le Mans next time.

Two months later, Miles is killed in a crash while testing the J-car at Riverside International Raceway. Six months later, Shelby parks outside Miles's widow Mollie's house and hesitates. Miles's son Peter arrives, and the two talk about Miles. Shelby gives Peter a wrench that Miles once threw at him in anger.

A textual epilogue reveals that Ford continued its Le Mans winning streak in 1967, 1968, and 1969, and Miles was posthumously inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2001.

Production

Development

A film based on the rivalry between Ford and Ferrari for the dominance at the Le Mans endurance race had long been in works at 20th Century Fox. Initially, it was going to star Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt from an original screenplay titled Go Like Hell, by Jason Keller, the name being taken from the book, Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans by A. J. Baime. However, after writers Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth drafted a script and Joseph Kosinski was brought on to direct, the project fell apart due to the budget being too high.[9][10][11][12] Cruise also left the project as he wouldn't be driving that much in the film.[13]

On February 5, 2018, it was announced that James Mangold had been brought on board to direct the film based on the previous script by Keller and the Butterworths.[14] Later, Caitríona Balfe, Jon Bernthal, and Noah Jupe joined the cast alongside Christian Bale and Matt Damon in the lead roles.[15][16]

In July 2018, Jack McMullen was cast in the film to play one of Miles's key British mechanics, and Tracy Letts also joined to play Henry Ford II, along with Joe Williamson.[17][18][19] In August 2018, JJ Feild was cast in the film to play the automotive engineer Roy Lunn, the head of Ford Advanced Vehicle Operations in England and the right-hand man to Henry Ford II.[20] Mangold approached Harrison Ford for a part in the film; they would later go on to collaborate in The Call of the Wild and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.[21]

Composer Marco Beltrami confirmed in an interview that he would be scoring the film, Beltrami having previously worked with Mangold on 3:10 to Yuma, The Wolverine and Logan.[22][23]

Filming

Filming began on July 30, 2018, and lasted for 67 days, taking place in California; New Orleans, Louisiana; Atlanta; Savannah; and Statesboro, Georgia, as well as Le Mans, France.[24][25]

Race scenes that appear in the film as Daytona were filmed at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana; many other race scenes were filmed at a Honda test track in Mojave Valley, on the Big Willow road course at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, Road Atlanta, Grand Prize of America Ave Savannah Hutchinson Island, and at the Porsche Experience in Carson (for the Dearborn test track).

A few scenes were filmed at tracks and roadways in Georgia such as Hwy 46 in Statesboro, Georgia.[26] The Le Mans grandstands, pits, and garages were replicated at the Agua Dulce Airpark in Agua Dulce. The hangar area where the cars were developed (originally at LAX) was filmed at

Reception

Box office

Ford v Ferrari grossed $117.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $107.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $225.5 million.[3]

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Charlie's Angels and The Good Liar, and was projected to gross $23–30 million from 3,528 theaters in its opening weekend.[35] It made $10.9 million on its first day, including $2.1 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $31.5 million, topping the box office.[36] In its second weekend the film dropped 50% to $15.7 million, finishing second behind newcomer Frozen 2, and then made $13.2 million in its third weekend (including $19 million over the five-day Thanksgiving frame), finishing third.[37][38] It continued to hold well in the following weeks, making $6.7 million and $4.1 million in its fourth and fifth weekends.[39][40]

Critical response

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of 7.80/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Ford v Ferrari delivers all the polished auto action audiences will expect – and balances it with enough gripping human drama to satisfy non-racing enthusiasts."[41] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[42] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare grade of "A+," while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 87% (with an average 4.5 out of 5 stars), with 68% saying they would definitely recommend it.[36]

Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle gave the film four out of four stars, saying that it "is what it promises to be, a blast from the past" and writing: "Ford v Ferrari could have just been a sports story, dramatizing an interesting chapter in racing, and it would have been fine. But in showing Ford and his minions' constant interference in the dedicated work of Miles and Shelby, this James Mangold film becomes a tale of souls battling the soulless."[43]

Ford family response

Edsel Ford II, Henry Ford II's son and former Board of Directors of Ford, was not pleased with the portrayal of his father. In a Tweet on the trailer for the film, he responded, "Based on this trailer, I think I might miss opening night! I knew Henry Ford II and Tracey Letts is no Henry Ford II." [47]

Accolades