In 1966, the Ford GT40 became the car to win the first-ever prize for an American constructor at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But, before the American company could win, it had 90 days to build a better racecar than the dominant Ferrari. It seemed like an impossible deadline, but as Matt Damon's Carroll Shelby—an American car developer—says to Christian Bale's Ken Miles—a legendary driver—in the trailer for Ford v Ferrari: “We’re lighter, we’re faster. If that don’t work, we’re nastier."
The film, directed by James Mangold (Walk the Line, Logan), is "the remarkable true story of the visionary American car designer Carroll Shelby (Damon) and the fearless British-born driver Ken Miles (Bale), who together battled corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966," as the official synopsis reads.
Due out on November 15, Ford v Ferrari hits in peak Oscar season, which means it might be another award contender for Bale, who is coming off his successful role as Dick Cheney in Vice, for which he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor and was nominated for an Academy Award. In fact, awards seasons experts are already tracking the movie in multiple categories. So, this is certainly one to keep an eye on for the next few months.
And, thankfully, for this role, Bale did not have to gain 2,000 pounds to play an actual car.
Matt Miller is a Brooklyn-based culture/lifestyle writer and music critic whose work has appeared in Esquire, Forbes, The Denver Post, and documentaries.
