By Susan Granger
Special to WestportNow
According to Ernest Hemingway, “There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing and mountaineering; the rest are merely games. These are the only sports where lives are put on the line.”
So “Ford vs Ferrari” begins as Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) is on the last leg of the 1959 Le Mans when, suddenly, both his car and he catch fire. After a quick fix, he’s back on the track, becoming the first American to win Le Mans. But that will be Carroll Shelby’s last race.
Sidelined by his cardiologist, Shelby turned to designing cars. Which put him on the radar of Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) who realized that, as the Baby Boomer generation came of age, their purchasing habits were changing. They wanted cars that were sportier, sexier and faster.
So Ford tried to buy Enzo Ferrari’s fabled Italian race car company. But, at the last minute, Ferrari sold to Fiat, not only refusing Ford’s monetary offer but also insulting Ford himself.
Infuriated, Ford decided to build a sports car that would win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the oldest auto endurance race. Carroll Shelby was the man to do it and British engineering specialist Ken Miles (Christian Bale) was the man to drive it — with unctuous Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas) as Ford’s toady.
Those are the facts. Screenwriters John-Henry Butterworth, Jez Butterworth and Jason Keller, working with director James Mangold, embellish them, creating a three-act structure that illuminates the heartfelt Shelby/Miles friendship, Miles’ devotion to his wife (Caitriona Balfe) and son (Noah Jupe), along with spectacular action set pieces.
As the drivers rev their engines, it’s almost like a Western gunfight with kudos to cinematographer Phedon Papamichael and stunt coordinator Robert Nagle.
Eventually, Ford’s GT40 emerged as one of the world’s most valuable automobiles. The 2020 GT40 has a $500,000 sticker price, while the track-only Ford GT Mk. II sells for $1.2 million.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Ford vs Ferrari” is an exciting 8 — hitting on all cylinders.
When South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for “Parasite” it didn’t surprise those who were dazzled by his post-apocalyptic “Snowpiercer” (2013) and fantastical “Okja” (2017).
His newest venture explores the dynamics between two families at opposite ends of the economic spectrum in Seoul, combining crime drama, black comedy and dark social satire as their disparate worlds collide.
Despite living in a cramped, subterranean apartment, Ki-woo Kim (Choi Woo Shik), the amiable son of impoverished parents, lands a lucrative job tutoring Da-Hye (Jung Ziso), the teenage daughter of wealthy tech executive Park Dong-ik (Lee Sun Kyun) and his gullible wife, Yeon-Kyo (Cho Yeo Jeong).
Having secured that position using counterfeit credentials, he paves the way for the rest of the destitute Kim family to scam and insinuate themselves into domestic positions at the bourgeois Parks’ opulent, multilevel home that’s an architectural showcase.
Ki-woo’s older sister, Ki-Jung (Park Sodam), is hired as an art therapist, working with Da-Hye’s disturbed younger brother, Da-song (Jung Hyunjun), who is besotted with Native Americana. His father, Ki-taek (Song Kang Ho), becomes the Parks’ chauffeur, while his mother, Chung-Sook (Jang Hyejin), usurps the chores of the Parks’ longtime housekeeper (Lee Jung Eun).
Of course, the pampered, unsuspecting Parks have no idea that these new ‘employees’ are related to one another. And — from there — it gets even more complicated.
FYI: In 2015, the top 10% of South Koreans held 66% of the nation’s wealth. That inequality, along with corruption scandals, prejudice and lack of social mobility, has engendered frustration and bitterness.
Scripting with Han Jin Won, director Boon Joon-ho reveals social awareness, sly humor and dry wit as he delves into the complex chasm between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots,’ unearthing class contempt and buried secrets. And until the very last frame, you’re never sure exactly where he’s going.
In Korean with English subtitles, on the Granger Gauge, “Parasite” is a suspenseful, acidic 9, a timely thriller that’s perhaps one of the best movies of the year.
In “The Good Liar,” Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen match wits in a clever crime caper, set in London.
Widowed Betty McLeish (Mirren) is a retired Oxford professor with $3.6 million in assets and no idea how to invest her money. Tweedy, chivalrous Roy (McKellen) Courtnay is the professional con man she meets via an online service called Distinctive Dating.
Initially suspicious of one another, both use pseudonyms which are soon discarded as they realize they’re both looking for companionship and begin meeting regularly.
But when he’s not with Betty, scheming Roy and his partner-in-crime Vincent (Jim Carter) are planning to swindle a pair of businessmen (Mark Lewis, Stefan Kalipha) in a bogus offshore investment scheme.
One evening, when the restaurant at which they planned to meet is closed, genial Betty graciously invites Roy to her small suburban home where he meets Betty’s grown grandson Steven (Russell Tovey), who is writing a dissertation on Nazi architect Albert Speer.
As time passes, Roy introduces gullible Betty to Vincent, posing as his ‘accountant and financial planner,’ who suggests that she and Roy combine their assets. They’re both delighted at what an easy ‘mark’ Betty seems to be.
But then Betty insists that she and Roy go on a European vacation, stopping in Berlin, where Steven has been studying ‘40s Germany. That’s where unexpected revelations and unpredictable complications arise.
Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher (“Mr. Holmes”) from Nicholas Searle’s 2016 novel and directed by Bill Condon (“Gods and Monsters,” “Kinsey”), punctuated by Carter Burwell’s menacing score, it’s deceptively diabolical, leaving the audience to wonder who can be trusted and who can’t.
What makes this subtle cat-and-mouse game work are the combined talents of Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen, who play off each other with staggering finesse despite the film’s shaky credibility.
On the Granger Gauge, “The Good Liar” is a slyly sophisticated 6 — revolving around sociopathic vengeance.
(Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
