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The HUNT for the next great racing flick is over. Allow me to LAUDA merits of this great film of racing history.
By R. G. - award winning filmmaker extraordinaire
There are no spoilers in this review of
Rush, for the 1976 Grand Prix championship was settled long ago. That it was done in the most unexpected fashion under torrential conditions by the shadow of majestic Mount Fuji in the legendary racing circuit of the same name has perhaps made it all the more a hallowed story of Formula One history. Books have been written analysing that season in great minute detail and documentary films have recounted the lives of James Hunt and Niki Lauda many times over. Even the tapes of the live broadcast and transcripts of Murray Walker’s omnipresent commentary still exist. And should you get the chance, you can go ask Niki Lauda himself what it was like – he’s still around.
A tricky thing, making a story interesting despite everyone already knowing how it all went down.
Yet, director Ron Howard does just that and then some. I say “and then some” not necessarily in a flattering way because, as expected, there are embellishments. So let’s get the biggest one out of the way, shall we? Hunt and Lauda never met in that particular Formula Three race. It is something that has been pointed out when production photos were leaked revealing just that fictional encounter. Certainly not the first nor the worst type of creative liberty taken in the realm of filmmaking promoted as “based on a true story”.
What is surprising however, is that some aspects of Hunt’s personality is actually toned down. By all accounts, his sexual appetite was more of a compulsion, and his hard drug use and alcohol consumption perhaps more than recreational. Certainly, he was renowned for enjoying all these to excess, even before having to nurse the pain of a broken marriage. His temper too was described by Sir Sterling Moss as “volatile”, with Hunt punching many a poor marshal who eagerly rushed to help Hunt after a shunt. “Hunt the Shunt” – an oft repeated rhyme for this was a regular occurrence throughout his career. Instead, Ron Howard relies yet again on the trick of re-imagining yet another encounter, with his version of Hunt’s aggression slightly more noble, this time defending Lauda from a journo who goes too far.
Despite these, Chris Hemsworth’s depiction of Hunt is still pretty much like the real Hunt, from the pre-race nerves and the vomiting, right down to the witty, politically incorrect, off the cuff remarks – identical to the ones committed on record and still available to us. In all, these make the James Hunt of
Rush a highly sympathetic character, one with real fears and tangible feelings, hidden from public view behind his playboy persona.
Daniel Bruhl’s Lauda on the other hand, is the one in constant danger of becoming a one-dimensional character. Throughout the film, the Lauda of
Rush is too uptight, too much of a straightedge. While the real Niki Lauda’s methodical and no nonsense approach is renowned, he was not always that brutally frank. Known to enjoy a drink after races, the real Lauda is a welcome addition to any gathering. His then wife, Marlene Lauda, said of the ever escalating competitiveness of F1 during Niki’s last few seasons, already firmly in the turbo era, “All the drivers are so serious, it’s no longer fun. Nikki is the only one who likes to smile and be friendly with the other drivers” – a far cry from the on-screen depiction of an insufferably “by the book” and all-business Lauda.
Only the real Lauda’s act of self-preservation would ever truly hint of the film version’s human side. A decision borne out of fear, drivers like Jody Scheckter – then driving for Tyrrell – called the real Lauda’s actions as true bravery. Lauda got out of his Ferrari, defied
Il Commendatore, and did not make any excuses. He just could not finish that race and he owned up to that decision.
But my biggest complaint is perhaps that, for a motor racing film,
Rush sure shows very little racing, with any extended driving sequence only occurring about an hour into the film. Instead, races are abbreviated as quick flashes of blurred landscape and the overuse of shaky in-car/on-car camera footage – likely added post-production. Devoid of any wide angle shots and any form of continuity editing, it’s hard not to call attention into the shakiness as a crutch to depict frantic excitement. With the availability of such stable cranes and booms mounted on various high speed chase cars (such as the ones seen during production!), I was hoping for
Rush to break from the “action equals shaky camera” trend of Hollywood filmmaking. Show me real driving! Show me the minute corrections done inside to control a slide! The countersteer! The finesse! But alas, we are treated to quick, jarring cuts ala Greengrass’ Bourne installments. It’s a trend that decades from now, would hopefully appear as pure kitsch. At least when Bourne punches a baddie, the next cut is of the aftermath of that punch. In
Rush however, I could never quite tell where the hell they are in the iconic racetracks of F1’s yesteryear, were it not for the captions. Save for Monaco (which only appears in Hunt’s visualization) and Nurburgring, all the other racing sequences could have been shot in Brands Hatch for all I know.
Nonetheless, even though shot in digital format (reportedly Arri Alexa and Canon C300) I must commend the colour grading. The temptation must have been there to make it look orange and blue, or perhaps excessively filtered, like oh so many puketastic creative instagram photos. Instead, there is a subtle warmth to the whole film, as though it were shot in 1970’s film stock.
Yet, I really only point out these minor annoyances of Rush’s action driving sequences because I am such a big fan of Frankenheimer’s
Grand Prix (1966) – still to this day my benchmark for any racing flick. There have been many car related movies, few have been about racing, and all have failed because they pandered to the lowest common denominator of automobile fans. Because despite these embellishments, glossed over details, and current action filmmaking clichés,
Rush is a masterful work of storytelling. Sacrificing long drawn out and realistic driving sequences,
Rush’s plot moves very fast indeed, all whilst largely staying true to the actual historical turn of events –
Grand Prix was a notoriously slow burn. Nonetheless, perhaps in homage to Frankenheimer’s work of art,
Rush also utilizes track announcers, reporters, and print headlines to advance the exposition (As an aside, I am unsure whether Simon Taylor plays Murray Walker or is he playing himself?).
If anything, the mere fact that there is a slick new racing movie out will leave motorsport fans and racers alike thankful. So used are these fans and racers to have their love, their passion, and their pastime being mangled and misrepresented, that anything close enough to the gritty realism of the sport is a very welcome and refreshing change indeed. For those of you who feared this will be
Driven Redux, then you need not worry. Go watch it! You won’t be disappointed. [/size]