By Steve Crum
Whether or not one is a fan of either cars or car racing has little bearing on enjoying the factually based Ford v Ferrari. It is arguably the best movie about auto racing ever produced. FvF is that good, that compelling. (And I am neither a car nor car racing devotee.)
Pistons and torques aside, FvF is really about friendship, love, trust, and risk. It is a balancing act superbly orchestrated by director James Mangold (Cop Land; Logan), and his screen scribes Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller.
Heading a pretty stellar cast are Matt Damon and Christian Bale. The actors are solid and the car racing sequences should garner Oscar noms for cinematography (Phedon Papamichael) and editing (Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland).
The story, set in 1963-66, focuses on car racing legends Carroll Shelby (Damon) and Ken Miles (Bale), who soon team to design and build a race car (for the Ford Motor Co.) that will surpass any offered by the seemingly unbeatable Italian Ferrari. This ultimately leads to the history making 1966 make-or-break (or brake) challenge at the grueling 24-hour Le Mans race in France. Specifically, it was the just developed Ford GT40 that faced Ferrari’s best. (No spoiler here about who wins.)
The tender heart of FvF involves the human relationships between Shelby 
and Miles; Miles and his wife Mollie (played by Caitriona Balfe); and son Peter (Noah Jupe). Jupe, by the way, is terrific.
All this contrasts with some really dictatorial corporation heads, Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) and Enzo Ferrari (Remo Girone). It is their rivalry that leads to the ultimate showdown in France.
In fine support are Josh Lucas as Leo Beebe, a Ford exec, and Jon Bernthal’s Lee Iacocca, VP of Ford. Worthy of mention is Marco Beltrami’s racing score, which 
keeps one on edge with a modified heartbeat—seemingly pacing the track.
As a casual driver who dislikes driving at night, the scenes of cars barreling along at 200+ mph during the grueling Le Mans in near pitch black, overnight conditions hit me like a shock horror flick. Make that Fear v Ferrari.
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GRADE, On A to F Scale: A