F1: The Movie is definitely a fun time at the movies and deserves a big screen experience, notes Mayur Sanap.
Watching Brad Pitt’s F1: The Movie is like enjoying a cinematic equivalent of comfort food.
As a classic underdog sports story, the beats are predictable with its deeply empathetic and inspirational qualities, but you relish it for its familiar appeal.
The sense of comfort also comes from the fact that there no heavy confrontations, showy villains or latex-wearing superheroes on a save-the-world quest.
It’s just a conventional drama featuring an easy-to-cheer-for hero and an old-fashioned superstar portraying it in a larger-than-life story.
Director Joseph Kosinski, who earlier accomplished this in Tom Cruise-starrer Top Gun: Maverick, mounts a similar star vehicle for Brad Pitt.
Instead of fighter jets, we have a spectacle of Formula 1 racing cars that feels just as epic in scope for an incredibly stylish and exhilarating film.
Brand Pitt is Sonny Hayes, a hotshot racer of yesteryears.
A life-threatening accident on the circuit pushes Sonny to an early retirement, shattering his dreams.
Years later, Sonny is pushed by his long-time friend and Formula 1 team owner Ruben (the charismatic Javier Bardem) to come out of his shell and start racing again.
Sonny returns to the circuit and teams up with Ruben’s up-and-coming racer Joshua Pearce (the confident Damson Idris), who gets on the wrong foot with Sonny’s brash but brilliant ways.
With their future on the line, the two must find a way to work together as they set off for the World Championship.
As I was patiently waiting in the queue at the advance screening, I overheard someone saying: ‘I don’t follow racing, not sure how much I am going to enjoy this one.’
It made me think, do we really need to have prior interest in a particular sport to enjoy a movie based on it?
Think of Rocky. Or Invictus. Or back home, Chak De! India.
These are some of the classic ones where the sport is a vehicle for a very humane, universally-appealing story that’s designed to make you feel uplifted and inspired.
In F1, it doesn’t matter if you have never cared about racing before.
Kosinski and his writing partner Ehren Kruger prioritise entertainment and storytelling over any on-the-nose sports geek detail.
The film has you locked-in throughout as it takes you on a high-speed ride. And what a ride it is!
From Claudio Miranda’s nimble camerawork capturing the thrill of Formula 1 to Hans Zimmer’s pulse-quickening music adding to sense of the speed, the death-defying nature of the sport truly comes alive in a viscerally engaging experience.
It’s also wonderful to see that the women characters are not relegated to caricatures as they get enough substance to make an impression in an otherwise male-dominated story.
Kerry Condon shows assertiveness and confidence of her Kate’s professional ambition, while Sarah Niles’ emotionally abrasive mother has a scene-stealing presence.
There’s some great fan-servicing here with a generous sprinkling of cameos from the real-life F1 racers. If you are a racing geek, you are in for a treat!
As the star of the show, Brad Pitt dominates almost every frame.
This is not a biopic, but it feels like one because of the way it makes a spectacle of Pitt’s character.
His Sonny is a hardened man who carries literal scars, both physical and emotional.
Beneath its uber cool, glossy texture, this is an emotionally complex role that’s right up his alley and Pitt seizes the moment, during the high-speed scenes as well as the quieter moments.
The emotional stillness he experiences in a beautifully-staged climactic race is one of the many standout moments.
F1: The Movie is definitely a fun time at the movies and deserves a big screen experience. IMAX viewing is recommended.
F1: The Movie Review Rediff Rating:
