Le Mans ’66 review: A movie for car-lovers and the uninitiated alike

Le Mans ’66 is a film which will suit those who love their classic cars. Audiences are treated to races, corporate in-fighting and emerging friendships in this film, albeit in the front seat of a racing car. The movie makes something niche far more accessible to film-lovers.

Starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale, Le Mans ’66 shows the tale of Carroll Shelby and his engineering partner, Ken Miles.

Shelby, a former racing driver, was the first American to win the 24 Hours at Le Mans, a race held over an entire day which tests drivers’ abilities like no other.

After winning, his health forced him to retire, at which point he and his friends souped-up classic cars for rich businessman to leave unused in their garages.

On the side, he ran a racing team, Cobra, with British driver Ken Miles acting as one of his star racers.

All of a sudden, Shelby finds himself in the clutches of the corporate machine when Henry Ford II, feeling slighted by Ferrari and wanting desperately to beat them, enlists Shelby to make him a world-beating race car.

The only way to do this, as far as Shelby is concerned, is to bring his outspoken, slightly difficult driver into the frame: despite how much this frustrates the Ford suits.

From here, we see the blossoming friendship go through a rollercoaster of emotions, at some moments leading to a punch up, and at others the pair embrace and share intimate moments.

Christian Bale performs well as the slightly irritable Miles, whose passion for his work is infectious and lead him to be a little bit rash at times.

His irritability seems to come in his belief he is always right, but as he softens and the audience gets to know him better, he melts their hearts quickly.

Matt Damon’s Shelby is far more measured. But the torture of being the middle man between creativity and money-making is clearly a difficult burden to bear, which Damon wears with a certain style.

The director, James Mangold, manages to make something completely foreign comprehendible, and even relatable as fans see the heroes trying to build something with a legacy which withstands company goals.

The constant push-back from the engineers builds such tension and frustrations, it is hard not to be jubilant when the cars zip speedily along the test track.

Mangold manages, as well as simplifying a sport unknown to many, to make those sports visually entertaining and stylish.

The 24 Hours at Le Mans is exactly that – 24 hours of racing cars – and yet somehow the tension builds well enough that fans are kept hooked, even if the intricacies of what is going on fails to fully register.

There is nothing groundbreaking about this film, it must be said.

Sports films sometimes struggle to find an audience outside of enthusiasts, but the slightly generic sweep this film takes means it can still hold the attention of someone removed from the automobile world.

The gorgeous visuals certainly hold that, and there is sufficient chemistry between Damon and Bale to elevate this film from just being another racing car movie, or biopic about famed sportsmen.

With that being said, perhaps something a little more out of the ordinary would be able to unite both worlds, as this story certainly sits in the land of the generic, however enjoyable it may be.

Le Mans ’66 is out in cinemas on November 15