Year Released: 2019
Directed by: James Mangold
Starring: Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Jon Bernthal . Josh Lucas, Caitriona Balfe, Noah Jupe
PG-13, 152 min.)
Genre: Drama, Action and Adventure

“No one worth possessing can be quite possessed.” –Sara Teasdale

You don’t have to be a racing fan to love this film. In fact, with the assorted male egos jockeying for position off the track, it’s those moments that really capture us.

That, coupled with Christian Bale putting in another exquisite performance that rivals his Oscar winning turn as Dicky Eklund, the coke ravaged ex boxer in 2010’s The Fighter, and you have something very special here.

In fact, the Oscar rumors are already coming in, and it would be a welcome change to have contenders that actually have audience (98%) along with critical (92%) appeal, as well as a leaving their box office competitors in the dust with a $31 million dollar opening.

Here’s what it’s all about:

American automotive designer Carroll Shelby and fearless British race car driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference, the laws of physics and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary vehicle for the Ford Motor Co. Together, they plan to compete against the race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.

Watching this film one gains a great appreciation for the heart and stamina it takes to race, the dedication and creative skill of pit crews, not to mention the super-sized egos needed to take on a contender almost never beaten, Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone).

In fact, all those male egos are much of the film’s fun – thank goodness humor has made a return to Oscar season just in time for Christmas. Usually it’s those preachy anti-American films that slither into the theaters just about now.

Not that all the Americans come out as glorious. And the real star is an English expat! Without a doubt, Henry Ford II is as ego driven as Enzo Ferrari, who casually insults the mass-produced Ford company when they approach him for a merger.

Lee Iacocca: Mr. Ford, Ferrari has a message for you, sir.
Henry Ford II: What did he say?
Lee Iacocca: He said Ford makes ugly little cars in ugly factories. And, uh, he called you fat, sir.
Henry Ford II: We’re going to bury Ferrari at Le Mans.

And that’s when Henry Ford II, also know as Deuce, sends an emissary to Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon), the only American to have won Le Mans.

Henry Ford II tells a skeptical Shelby how Ford Motors under his father produced the armaments that helped us win World War II. (Despite Henry Ford's anti-war views, his company contributed heroically to the war effort. Overnight, Charlie Sorensen and a few others had turned from cranking out Fords to building B-24 bombers, jeeps, tank engines, and a wide array of other military hardware. –auto.howstuffworks.com)

“This isn't the first time Ford Motors has gone to war. We know how to do more than push papers. Go ahead, Carroll. Go to war.”

And that’s just what Carroll Shelby does. But he has to talk the cranky Ken Miles into taking on the impossible. Actually, it’s not building the car that will be his hardest job; it’s dealing with the brass at Ford Motors. And as we see, Ken is indeed right.

It’s comical to see how each group has a sort of contempt for each other. Ken Miles the perfectionist has a particular knack for insults himself, and it’s not the “He’s fat” blandness of Ferrari. He is particularly good at insulting the customers at his auto shop, especially if he feels they are not good enough to drive a sports car:

[As Ken is trying to explain to a customer there’s nothing wrong with his sports car]

Ken Miles: Drive like you mean it, hard and tight. Short and clean.
Customer: Are you telling me I don’t know how to drive my own car?
Ken Miles: No. But if you ask me, this isn’t your car. Your car is more a Plymouth, a Studebaker.
Customer: [threateningly] You and me have a problem, buddy?
Ken Miles: I don’t have a problem. I had an MG and it ran just fine.
Customer: Screw you, you limey prick! I want my money back!

Which explains a little why business is a bit down for the “Limey prick” and why he is then willing to take on the suits at Ford Motors as well as the seemingly impossible task of getting a Ford Motors product to compete with the hand made beauties Enzo Ferrari turns out with disgusting regularity.

And Ken’s none too kind in assessing the Ford Mustang, pretty much publicly tearing its design to shreds at its automotive debut in Detroit. And there he guarantees the undying enmity of Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas not playing the nice guy anymore), Ford’s Director of Special Vehicles. Their ongoing battles make the brutal techniques of racecar driving pale in comparison.

But the curmudgeon has his soft parts, too, as we see in Miles’ warm relationship with his wife (a pitch perfect Caitriona Balfe) and his son (Noah Jupe.) A particular a scene where she uses his own dare devil driving techniques with her suburban station wagon to get Ken spill some racing details he’s been holding back from her is breathtaking. And the scenes between father and son are poignant but not sappy.

The best is when they go out on the track and Ken stares into the distance:

Ken Miles: Look out there. Out there is the perfect lap. You see it?
Peter Miles: I think so.
Ken Miles: Most people can’t.

Or as Matt Damon’s Carroll Shelby says more poetically:

There’s a point, seven thousand RPM, where everything fades. The machine becomes weightless, it just disappears. And all that’s left is a body moving through space and time. Seven thousand RPM, that’s where you meet it. It creeps up near you, and it asks you a question. The only question that really matters. Who are you?

Matt Damon plays the legendary Texas racing driver and automotive designer Carroll Shelby with understated charm and quiet determination. One wonders what Brad Pitt, who was first considered for the role, might have done with that role. Probably more flamboyance and charisma, like his turn as stunt driver Cliff Booth in the recent Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. But would it have been superior, or is Matt Damon’s more low-key performance the better complement to his hot-blooded friend?

Don’t miss this film. It’s the type of superb family fare that Hollywood once produced effortlessly. How nice to see a return to this film making excellence grace our theaters again, even if it does play a little fast and loose with the facts. Not to miss.

–Kathy Borich
🥁🥁🥁🥁

Trailer

Film-Loving Foodie

The lead mechanical and racing genius behind Ford’s racing car is an Englishman, a grumpy eccentric who is as good at turning off people as he is at turning on the speed of his racing cars. But Ken Miles (Christian Bale) is certainly not one of those stiff upper lip Brits; in fact, he would probably be much happier calling himself a “Limey,” as those not in his fan club refer to him.

So this down to earth English dish seems to fit him best. And just in time for an after Christmas gift, the recipe comes from Different Drummer’s own Appetite for Murder: A Mystery Lover’s Cookbook. (Order it now for yourself or a friend to get it in time.)

Our recipe for Toad in the Hole looks like something young cooks might enjoy making and eating, too.

Enjoy.

Toad in the Hole

Ingredient
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk Salt
Coarse black pepper and Cayenne to taste
Pinch each ginger and nutmeg (optional)
8 thick, short sausages of your choice
1 3/4 ounces drippings
1 small onion, thinly sliced

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To make batter, sift both flours and salt into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center. Add combined eggs and milk gradually; whisk until smooth. Add seasonings. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Prick sausages all over with a fork. Place half the drippings in a shallow 6-cup capacity ovenproof dish. Place in oven to heat while preparing sausages. Heat remaining drippings in a large frying pan and cook the sausages for 5 minutes until well browned. Transfer to a plate; add onions to pan and cook for 3 minutes, until soft.

Arrange sausages and onion in the heated dish. Quickly pour batter over sausages and return to oven for 30 minutes, until batter is set and golden. Serve immediately with mustard.

Appetite for Murder: A Mystery Lover’s Cookbook