[four-star-rating] Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara[/four-star-rating]
Ladies and gentlemen, here’s a movie to get your engines revving.
Formula 1 racing makes NASCAR look idiotic. Instead of a bunch of heavy muscle cars constantly running around in circles, Formula 1 has twists and turns, sex appeal, meticulous engineering, lightning-fast strategy, and adult immaturity with a gloss of worldwide chicness.
Even with all that impressive cred, though, this film seems ready to stall out – its first half loaded with biopic cliché. In the amazing, engaging second half, director Ron Howard creates a compelling narrative, turning the 1976 racing season into an emotional competition between two legends with decidedly differing philosophies and personalities.
James Hunt (Hemsworth) was an English playboy who turned his back on his family’s fortune to race. Niki Lauda (Brühl) also refused family fortune for Formula 1. Neither liked being compared to the other. Hunt was a lothario who loved the spotlight. Lauda was fixated on everything about the sport, from the mechanics of the car to the tactics of the track. Hunt relished the thrill and the camaraderie; Lauda lauded the mathematics and loathed the false relationships. Their season of bitter rivalry would be marred with politics and disaster. (It also marked the start of another great driver – the one who was the legend of my childhood – Mario Andretti.)
Rush has a glamorous international feel, with actors speaking English, French, German, Austrian, and Japanese depending on the many locations of the famous races. Howard taps into the time period without letting art direction overpower the rest of the film. Composer Hans Zimmer mixes period-sounding guitar into his typical epic score, finding a more befitting sound.
What is more important than the style is the characterization. Hemsworth is perfect for his big, simple, boyish battles. Brühl (a bit part in Inglorious Basterds) is worthy of an Oscar nomination (as long as they keep him in the supporting category). Both famous drivers narrate the movie – which seems right; at different times, we can root for one or the other.
Hunt and Lauda also got married that year; Dormer as Hunt’s wife and Wilde as Laud’s each nail their brief scenes, all excellently scripted by writer Peter Morgan (The Queen, The Last King of Scotland).
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Perhaps there are a few mechanical quibbles. The first half of Rush is pretty typical, zipping from location to location, literally racing to the next juicy scene. Also, the film sometimes utilizes titles to explain dates and locations, and sometimes it doesn’t – relying on posters instead (and feeling a little inconsistent). Some of the races are sped through in the most frustratingly shallow ways – with a quick shot of a tire spinning or a TV sportscaster reporting the outcome.
Still, there’s just way too much good here – especially in the last thrilling half of the film – that it’s ultimately easy to forgive the beginning’s small false starts. Howard crafts a worthy day at the races.
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