LE MANS ’66
★★★★★
AUTOMOTIVE designer Carroll Shelby and daredevil driver Ken Miles turbo-charged the racing division of Ford Motor Company to take on Ferrari at the 1966 Le Mans 24-hour endurance race.
The battle royale between the two brands on the Circuit de la Sarthe is recreated in muscular fashion by director James Mangold, working from a script by Jason Keller and London-born brothers Jez and John-Henry Butterworth.
Le Mans ‘66 is a crowd-pleasing drama of triumph on four wheels, anchored by terrific lead performances from Matt
Damon and Christian Bale.
The Welsh actor achieves another extreme body transformation, dropping 70lb in weight after his turn as Dick Cheney in Vice to portray a scowling, anti-authoritarian maverick.
Initially, the film focuses on marketing executive Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal), who persuades hard-nosed boss Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) that the key to revitalising the ailing brand is to make Ford sexy.
“James Bond does not drive a Ford,” says Lee.
“That’s because he’s a degenerate!” growls Ford.
Eventually, the chief executive dispatches Lee to Italy to court Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone) and sign a commercial deal to draw on Ferrari’s expertise.
Discussions break down and Ferrari insults the Americans by telling them to “go back to your big, ugly factory making big, ugly cars”.
In response, Ford orders his company’s racing division to build a car capable of humiliating Ferrari at the 1966 Le Mans.
Stetson-wearing Carroll Shelby (Damon) accepts the seemingly impossible challenge and he approaches Ken Miles (Bale) to sit behind the wheel of the Ford GT40.
Lee’s boardroom rival, fellow executive Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas), denounces the appointment – “Ford means reliability. Ken’s not a Ford man!” – but Carroll is adamant Miles is the driver for the job.
Le Mans ‘66 excels during breathlessly staged racing sequences in an era when the need for speed heightened the dangers of the sport.
Damon and Bale jump-start a winning on-screen partnership while Mangold shifts sweetly through the gears, before he hits thrilling top speed with the final showdown.