"Rush" - directed by Ron Howard
Considering that I am not remotely interested in Formula One and that I find Ron Howard to be one of the most overrated directors working today I was surprisingly excited to see this one.
The trailer showed a movie that appeared to be well shot with some exciting looking race sequences.
I like Daniel Bruhl a lot too and consider him one of the highlights in "Inglourious Basterds" - a movie already brimming with them.
Then there is that 1970's setting.
Maybe it was Ron Howard's very nicely done "Frost Nixon" - also set in this era- that convinced me to let go of my trepidation at the director and the subject matter and go along and see this one.
He can do good work but in my opinion it is at a ratio of about one in four.
"Rush" however, falls on the right side of the ratio.
It shares a great deal in common with "Frost Nixon" and not just in the era and the fact that it is based on real people and events.
It is well shot, nicely constructed and has a good sense of exactly what the story is that it is telling.
Exploring the rivalry between British Formula One driver James Hunt and Austrian Niki Lauda "Rush" smartly chooses to focus on both men as individuals in even greater detail.
Ask anyone about Niki Lauda and one of the first things that they will mention is the horrific race accident that scarred his head and face permanently.
It's kind of the elephant in the room and that's a shame because the man was obviously, without any doubt a talented driver and surely this should be his legacy.
No doubt this is the case within the F1 community already.
"Rush" I would think will go some way towards ensuring this also for everyone else.
The opening scene showing the tension between the Lauda and Hunt as a Formula One race is about to start is narrated by Lauda (a brilliant Daniel Bruhl).
He tells us that this will be the race in which his determination to beat his fierce rival will result in disaster and we know what he means.
Like the great documentary "Senna" which covers very similar ground we are all too aware that a terrible tragedy is central to the movie.
But "Rush" somehow makes it a secondary concern- even as it deliberately brings it to the fore from the first frames.
This is a film about two flawed men and the things that drove them and the rivalry that became something more.
After the opening we next meet Niki Lauda as a young man so determined to succeed in motor racing that he effectively disassociates himself from his family and the business that he was expected to follow to pursue his dream of racing F1 cars.
Not wanting to waste any time, he buys his way into a racing team.
Not the stuff of your standard movie hero.
But Lauda immediately shows that he has more than a bankroll.
His uncanny natural ability comes to the fore as he rebuilds the racing car to perform more than 2 seconds per lap faster and strikes a deal that means he is very quickly the number two driver on the team and with a bunch of leverage and power to boot.
Meanwhile, James Hunt is forging forward from Formula Three into Formula One.
He is sleeping his way through a staggering number of models and actresses as he does it.
One man is a reckless rogue - the other a clinical, laser focused machine.
This is very much the Salieri / Mozart style of rivalry from the (albeit historically wonky) "Amadeus".
And like Milos Foreman's film Ron Howard's shows us the respect under the rivalry.
Lauda and Hunt could not have been more different but the movie versions clearly admire the differences as much as they resent them.
Lauda is a picture of calm before races.
Hunt vomits.
Lauda has one woman and only one woman his life.
Hunt has many.
Hemsworth is a nice fit for this role and will no doubt make himself yet more adoring female fans with this film.
He is charming, funny and frequently forgoes clothing.
For the male viewer there is Olivia Wilde but she has scant few scenes.
The racing scenes compensate nicely with some excellent point of view, aerial and chase shots.
After the excess of the Fast and Furious movies it is nice to see the simple thrill of realistic racing.
In races in the rain the intensity is all there on the screen.
It is fascinating stuff.
It is the performance of Daniel Bruhl that makes "Rush" the movie that it is however and it would be no surprise at all to see him get some Oscar love when the nominations are announced for next years awards.
As good as he was in Tarantino's World War 2 epic he absolutely shines in "Rush" as Lauda.
Appearance and accent aside (which are bang on) it is the little nuances to Bruhl's performance that really make it compelling.
Neither of the lead characters are shown as particularly great examples of humanity.
Hunt is an egotistical, self centred womaniser who takes his talent for granted.
Lauda is a cold, clinical, laser focused seemingly unfeeling machine.
But as the movie progressed depth is revealed in both men and a sort of code of honour emerges.
The contrasting ways that these manifest are testament to the performances of both but it is the subtlety that Bruhl brings that makes what could have been a pedestrian story with good driving sequences much more.
I find Ron Howard movies are often afflicted with the belief that the audience has no intelligence and must have everything spelled out for them.
Refer to the truly horrific scene in "The Da Vinci Code" in which Howard chooses to give us a black and white recap of an escape scene just in case anyone missed how it was done or just about everything about "A Beautiful Mind".
"Rush" suffers far less from this blight but still I wonder what someone like Michael Mann or David Cronenberg would have done with this material.
Regardless this is clearly one of Howard's better films.
Anyone interested in motor sport should certainly check it out but this is just as much a film for fans of great acting.
"Rush" is very, very good.
The trailer showed a movie that appeared to be well shot with some exciting looking race sequences.
I like Daniel Bruhl a lot too and consider him one of the highlights in "Inglourious Basterds" - a movie already brimming with them.
Then there is that 1970's setting.
Maybe it was Ron Howard's very nicely done "Frost Nixon" - also set in this era- that convinced me to let go of my trepidation at the director and the subject matter and go along and see this one.
He can do good work but in my opinion it is at a ratio of about one in four.
"Rush" however, falls on the right side of the ratio.
It shares a great deal in common with "Frost Nixon" and not just in the era and the fact that it is based on real people and events.
It is well shot, nicely constructed and has a good sense of exactly what the story is that it is telling.
Exploring the rivalry between British Formula One driver James Hunt and Austrian Niki Lauda "Rush" smartly chooses to focus on both men as individuals in even greater detail.
Ask anyone about Niki Lauda and one of the first things that they will mention is the horrific race accident that scarred his head and face permanently.
It's kind of the elephant in the room and that's a shame because the man was obviously, without any doubt a talented driver and surely this should be his legacy.
No doubt this is the case within the F1 community already.
"Rush" I would think will go some way towards ensuring this also for everyone else.
The opening scene showing the tension between the Lauda and Hunt as a Formula One race is about to start is narrated by Lauda (a brilliant Daniel Bruhl).
He tells us that this will be the race in which his determination to beat his fierce rival will result in disaster and we know what he means.
Like the great documentary "Senna" which covers very similar ground we are all too aware that a terrible tragedy is central to the movie.
But "Rush" somehow makes it a secondary concern- even as it deliberately brings it to the fore from the first frames.
This is a film about two flawed men and the things that drove them and the rivalry that became something more.
 |
| Daniel Bruhl as Niki Lauda - Oscar worthy |
Not wanting to waste any time, he buys his way into a racing team.
Not the stuff of your standard movie hero.
But Lauda immediately shows that he has more than a bankroll.
His uncanny natural ability comes to the fore as he rebuilds the racing car to perform more than 2 seconds per lap faster and strikes a deal that means he is very quickly the number two driver on the team and with a bunch of leverage and power to boot.
Meanwhile, James Hunt is forging forward from Formula Three into Formula One.
He is sleeping his way through a staggering number of models and actresses as he does it.
One man is a reckless rogue - the other a clinical, laser focused machine.
This is very much the Salieri / Mozart style of rivalry from the (albeit historically wonky) "Amadeus".
And like Milos Foreman's film Ron Howard's shows us the respect under the rivalry.
Lauda and Hunt could not have been more different but the movie versions clearly admire the differences as much as they resent them.
Lauda is a picture of calm before races.
Hunt vomits.
Lauda has one woman and only one woman his life.
Hunt has many.
Hemsworth is a nice fit for this role and will no doubt make himself yet more adoring female fans with this film.
He is charming, funny and frequently forgoes clothing.
For the male viewer there is Olivia Wilde but she has scant few scenes.
The racing scenes compensate nicely with some excellent point of view, aerial and chase shots.
After the excess of the Fast and Furious movies it is nice to see the simple thrill of realistic racing.
In races in the rain the intensity is all there on the screen.
It is fascinating stuff.
 |
| Chris Hemsworth as James Hunt - with Daniel Bruhl (middle) and Olivia Wilde (right) |
As good as he was in Tarantino's World War 2 epic he absolutely shines in "Rush" as Lauda.
Appearance and accent aside (which are bang on) it is the little nuances to Bruhl's performance that really make it compelling.
Neither of the lead characters are shown as particularly great examples of humanity.
Hunt is an egotistical, self centred womaniser who takes his talent for granted.
Lauda is a cold, clinical, laser focused seemingly unfeeling machine.
But as the movie progressed depth is revealed in both men and a sort of code of honour emerges.
The contrasting ways that these manifest are testament to the performances of both but it is the subtlety that Bruhl brings that makes what could have been a pedestrian story with good driving sequences much more.
 |
| The real Niki Lauda - now (left) and then (second) and James Hunt (third and right) |
Refer to the truly horrific scene in "The Da Vinci Code" in which Howard chooses to give us a black and white recap of an escape scene just in case anyone missed how it was done or just about everything about "A Beautiful Mind".
"Rush" suffers far less from this blight but still I wonder what someone like Michael Mann or David Cronenberg would have done with this material.
Regardless this is clearly one of Howard's better films.
Anyone interested in motor sport should certainly check it out but this is just as much a film for fans of great acting.
"Rush" is very, very good.
| Rated | R13 for sex and brief nudity and language |
| Running Time: | 123 minutes (1hr, 53 mins without end credits) |
| Starring: |
| Chris Hemsworth | --- James Hunt |
| Daniel Bruhl | --- Niki Lauda |
| Olivia Wilde | --- Suzy Miller |
| Natalie Dormer | --- Gemma |
| Rebecca Ferdinando | --- Maid of Honour |
| Tom Wlaschiha | --- Harald Ertl |
| Alexandra Maria Lara | --- Marlene Knaus |
| Jospehine de la Baume | --- Agness Bonnet |
| Pierfrancesco Favino | --- Clay Regazzoni |
| Rain Elwood | --- Hunt's Girlfriend |
| Julian Seager | --- Millionaire Rockstar |
No comments:
Post a Comment