Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Ford V Ferrari 

This film is another astonishing achievement by James Mangold once again! Christian Bale and Matt Damon showcase incredible leading performances on top of their amazing onscreen presence you fall in love with instantly. Mangold has become one of my favourite filmmakers over the years as impressed me with his work on the Johnny Cash biopic that was Walk The Line and then brought a new style to the X-Men name with the Logan film that was the best film that year and now he’s dominating the sports genre with this gripping story that he executed beautifully. The film is full of pulse pounding intensity, hilarious humour and a great deal of emotion all which crafts a truly fantastic film with a incredible true story that unfolds so well through the wonderful lead performances, the fabulous direction and it’s great style that brings it to life in such a engaging way this is definitely the best racing film I’ve seen since Rush. 

Firstly, What made this film so effective was it didn’t focus just on the pulse pounding racing sequences like many sports film tend to do which is spend the time looking at the spectacle of the race but rarely do we get as invested in the build up to that and that is what this film does so well. The film makes the scenes outside of the car as interesting as when when their in the cars and that’s a massive strength I loved from this film it’s ability to really show us on both sides who these people are what their views are and what conflicts they come into so by the time it gets to the big race by the end of the film your so fully invested because James fleshed out the characters so well and got you invested in them and the story that it’s the even more gripping by the time the film gets to the race. We see the big spectacle but we see how that spectacle comes to be which is so brilliant and I loved that approach that this film had to its story it worked so well and it had me more engaged then I’ve ever felt watching a sports film in a very long time. 

Secondly, The two lead performances are outstanding! Damon brings a great second hander to Christian Bale as they both never try and compete for who’s character is more compelling but they work together and when onscreen together have great onscreen chemistry that shines and sparks a genuine connection as it results in very humorous moments at times that is shown greatly by both of them but their also able to show the more emotional aspect of well they have a great back and forth onscreen that was so well presented. Bale delivers a performance that is high wired and full of passionate intensity and is unlike any rind we’ve seen him do before and as for Damon he gives one of his best performances in years as he soaks up every aspect of the person he’s playing with great style and incredible emotional depth. Both performances are fantastic and everyone else involved also contribute greatly to the film but it’s the two leads that truly engage you from the first frame to its last. 

Lastly, Ford V Ferrari is one of the best sports films in years and is also one of the years best films that brings an approach to the genre we rarely get to see as it shows the high wired racing but also the team behind it and how it all came to be it’s full of humour, heart and great emotion as well as gripping intensity that has you engaged all the way through this incredible story. Ford V Ferrari is a outstanding film that I recommend everyone go check out. 

Based on a true story this film takes place in 1966 when the car designer Carroll Shelby and a British born driver named Ken Miles work together to build a Ford car that can compete against Ferrari at the Le Mans race in France 

Rated PG - 13 : for some language and peril

Christian Bale : Bale shows a side to him we had not seen before! Christian Bale is one of the best actors working today as he has become one of the most transformative actors as with his amazing performance last year as Dick Cheney In Vice that I still think is his best performance to date. He brings another solid leading performance that shows a whole other side to him we hadn’t seen before. He plays this very bombastic, passionate and at times aggressive driver and Bale channels what is required for this role and soars as he truly takes this character head on. He has this very deep British accent which Bale actually is in real life and so here he voices a incredibly deep British accent with a very interesting personality that makes you interested the moment you see him. As he has this way with delivering his lines in such a quick way that just rolls off his tongue in a very natural and compelling way. He brings a real loud aggression to the character it’s not violent but passionate frustration that he shows in little moments of anger bursts of emotion that is fantastically shown as in the film he’s very quiet when not on the race track he’s very calm and very kept to himself but once Bale starts tinkering with a car or racing he’s a beast and nothing will get in his way he will push the limits to as far as he can go and here Bale brings in very much a dramatic dryness filled with humour surrounding it as he is able to portray the person he’s playing as accurate and respectful as possible at the same time he also is able to bring an approach to the portrayal of this person that is emotionally quiet but incredibly passionate and full of great witty humour. He’s able to truly transform from head to toe and show a new side to himself emotionally we hadn’t seen before as for me this performance is unlike anything I’ve seen him give as I’ve never seen him being such layers of dramatic Weight and humour in the mix all at once before maybe he’s done one or the other but not both and they combine so well together he knows when to showcase  which and he gives once again another truly terrific leading performance Bale shines once again in another solid performance. 

Matt Damon : Damon brings one of his best performances in years to this film. Now I know what your thinking but he was great in the Martian I agree he was great in it but i think actually his work here is even equal if not better then his performance in that film and I’ll tell you why. Damon is a fantastic leading actor who’s proven he can do dramatic heavy roles as he’s shown time and time again but only to my memory has he ever done a person based on a true story yes he did Invictus and Behind the Candelabra which are fantastic but here he brings a new layer that was just so compelling that I think it’s one of his finest performances period as he shows such an arc through this film. We get equal amount of screen time with both characters but Matt Really goes for it as he wants to give the most accurate depiction of this character as much as possible and I believe he does just that as he adapts his voice to sound differently his mannerisms and the way he would even just look at you all of it even how he carries himself Damon fully soaks himself completely into this role and you can tell he’s having a blast with this role as throughout the film in the beginning he’s very questionable on Christian Bale’s character and overtime after seeing what he can do behind the wheel he has confidence that he’s the driver for the job and Damon is a total different person that who he is from the beginning as he goes on a captivating emotional character arc that truly shapes and changes the character and by doing that which was done so smartly we get to see such a range of layers from Damon because of it. He shows more humour then Bale does for sure he has great comedic elements in his performance that are so perfectly timed it’s not meant to make the scene more funny but to inject some dry humour into it and Damon perfectly delivers those lines so well without it coming off as to jokey and then he can also do the more emotional gripping elements where he is almost going to break down into tears but holds it back he has not shown a range of all these emotions in this film like this in a while and wow is he incredible. You can’t take your eyes off of him he can be serious or funny without even saying a word it’s just in the body language he conveys at times and it’s sheer brilliance he commits one hundred percent to this performance and gives one of his finest performances ever giving great witty humour but also emotionally hard hitting moments that are effectively acted by Damon in a amazing performance. 

James Mangold : Mangold once again has shaped another terrific film that will have you cheering! Mangold as mentioned earlier is one of my favourite directors working today as he’s always found new ways to take on a genre he has yet to tackle in a new way with a different approach that’s always fresh and I lobe that. Here he brings himself into the sports genre well it’s also based on a true story so a bio pic as well but what he does so great with the material for this film and the incredible story at hand is he never makes it just about the racing but rather a story about these two characters. We rarely see the actual company talk with one another and the film more follows the two guys and how they went on to change the game of car racing. The story feels so inspirational without it trying to be which is amazing as it never tries to force you to feel for any single moment it happens naturally and so automatically as the film’s characters has great high moments and you celebrate them at that and then when their at their lowest you feel for them and that’s what I love about James’s approach to the story it wasn’t about the style or the cool factor of the cars the heart of the story is about the friendship these two guys have throughout the story and then the racing is the second element to come into play as yes it’s about racing but he makes the characters the most important element of the narrative then focuses on the racing as well and I thought that was so brilliantly handled and executed by James as he balances the film from showing the lives of these two men and how they came to challenge the system of what can be done with a car you have that element and then the big style look of the racing which he balances so well and has great sprinkles of humour and great deep emotion that impacts you to even shed a tear. James has once again given us another great film that brings you into this world and this story and gets your attention the moment it starts and then have you engaged all the way through with the great performances from its lead actors to the incredible story being told Mangold shows this story as accurate as possible while also capturing so much that truly makes this film shine. James Mangold has once again given another greatly directed film.