Ford v Ferrari cements Christian Bale's place in the pantheon of acting greats
Is there anything Christian Bale cannot do? That was the million-dollar question when the world saw him push the Ford GT40 Mk II to its limits to pip Ferrari at the 24 hour Le Mans. The 45-year old has to his credit a long line of thoughtful, detailed performances that have left lasting impressions. Be it the insanely skinny Trevor Reznik in 'The Machinist', a role for which he lost 62 pounds to play a man with insomnia and psychological problems. Or be it the jacked, suave, maniacal, misogynistic, and morbid serial killer in 'American Psycho.'
Add some quality names like 'The Dark Knight' trilogy, 'The Fighter', 'Vice' and 'American Hustle', there are some stellar performances in each of these movies that simply say Bale is among the finer actors of this generation. At this point in his career, the statement of being one of the greats is not one made without ample thought. Put him in a ring and he has been part of a generation that has heavyweights in Leonardo DiCapro, Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix and his very own co-star, Matt Damon. Putting him alongside these Hollywood maestro's just goes on to show the quality and the versatility he brings to the table.
Each character, he dished out raw, power-packed performances, not to forget the arduous preparation for some of the roles. Guess prosthetics can simply be scratched off the list should the film have Bale cast in it. He has been part of movies where an ensemble cast, which also happen to be the best in business, has starred alongside him, and he's punched well above his weight to deliver. Clearly, this man sets high standards and his 'Out of the Furnace' is a great example. It may have been one of the more underrated films but Bale's performance just catapults the film to be one of those must-watchs.
It was perhaps in 'American Psycho' that Bale established himself with that mind-numbing performance. Blithe morbidity and some psychotic shades were essayed seamlessly to describe his persona and the focus is his slick way of dishing out Huey Lewis facts.
It is of no surprise that his portrayal of Bruce Wayne in Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Knight' trilogy is still regarded the best so far. In Heath Ledger, he had another immensely gifted actor and Bale does a stupendous job playing a vigilante fighting a man who just wants to watch the world burn. The best part was there was more to Bale than being Batman. He followed it up with a masterclass of a performance in 'Rescue Dawn' and 'The Prestige' where he was termed as "a complete package."
Guess a blip in a movie called 'Terminator: Salvation' helped the Englishman in learning to shrug off lessons as he shredded down to playing a crack-head in 'The Fighter.' Starring alongside Mark Wahlberg, he oozed warmth and madness of a boxer that garnered positive critical acclaim.
There's little doubt that Bale is well set to go down in cinematic history as a legend. And we're not just focussing on that one attribute where he goes through near-impossible physical transformations. If anything, this is just Bale going about his job and attempting to nail whatever he is playing. At the moment, he is more than just a veteran actor and there's no counter-argument for this statement. In Ken Miles, we see another performance that may hand him a well-deserved Oscar. Gangly, elasticky and a walking-driving car nerd that he is, Bale plays the role to point perfection.
For those born after the events of 'Ford v Ferrari', it's easy to assume that Miles was exactly the man Bale would have portrayed him to be. An ice-cream and cola loving heck of genius driver who hit the brakes to ensure Ford's corporates got what they wanted. Even if it robbed him of a thoroughly deserving victory.
As far as the hopefuls go, this isn't the last ground-breaking performance from Bale.
