'Ford v Ferrari' review: Here's how Christian Bale and Matt Damon shaped up to play Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles in the '60s racing drama
Over the years, we have seen Matt Damon's transformations. The jacked agent in 'Jason Bourne', the calorie-deficient, insanely-shredded astronaut in 'The Martian' and now we see him as coke-guzzling, gum-chewing bit of a podgy car designer, Carroll Shelby, in James Mangold's 'Ford v Ferrari'. Damon has been one of those few actors who adapts to just any role offered and he pulls of Shelby with absolute ease. Such is his preparation where he details out car technicalities that you wouldn't be surprised if he manages to build a car in his garage someday.
In an interview with Variety, the actor spoke about his preparation for the role. "I watched a lot of footage of him to try to get a sense of how to do it. You just try to get the essence of the person, so that people who remember him go, ‘Yeah, you’re in the neighborhood.’ Then just try to tell the story as best you can."
While Damon had his transformation, his fellow-star Christian Bale had his work cut out for him. The Englishman is renowned for his incredible physical transformations and in 'Ford v Ferrari' we saw him as a more leaner, agile race car driver. A sharp contrast to his role as Dick Cheney in 'Vice' where he ate his way to packing 40 pounds. Prior transformations include playing a severely skinny man in 'The Machinist' and a more beefed-up superhero in Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Knight Trilogy'.
"I had to get in the car,” Bale told Variety during the movie's premiere. "I could not bloody – these things are not made for comfort, these cars. They’re tight. So, I couldn’t bloody get in them. That would have been a whole different film." He also shed light on his character Ken Miles while talking to the site about the transformation. "He was an easy character to channel intensity into, but a great deal of fun as well. He was a guy who really enjoyed his life. He loved what he did. That’s why he was so passionate and despised the bureaucrats who would come along and spoil all the fun, basically. He just thought there was no room for them in racing."
The two heavyweights have ensured no stone was left unturned when it came to research and preparation for each of the movies and the results are out there for the world to see. 'Ford v Ferrari' just adds to the list of their transformation tales and it definitely won't be the last.