In the history of Formula 1, there have been numerous attempts to dedicate a film to the sport. Numerous attempts, but not necessarily successful ones, according to Noël Ummels. What can we expect from the latest attempt starring Brad Pitt?
And, are we all looking forward to it? Judging by the lack of imagination in the title, it seems to be another uncreative disappointment, but I have a soft spot for Brad Pitt and the production team has undoubtedly earned its stripes.
There was a time when you would trip over Sylvester Stallone in the paddock. I don’t believe I’m the type to be starstruck, even the presence of Mick Jagger as a guest of Williams didn’t affect me, let alone the repeated confrontation with Rocky Rambo would hit me like a sledgehammer. Why was he there so often? Because he was working on a Formula 1 film. Then commercial operator Bernie Ecclestone saw this as a promotion of his sport in the then still promised land of the United States, until it became clear to him what kind of botched job Sly was steering towards. The gates of the paddock promptly closed and he was forced to take refuge in the ChampCars.
Enjoyment for the Wrong Reasons
I wanted to see with my own eyes what disaster had been averted and went to see the film, called Driven. A very obvious but slightly more original title than F1, given the double meaning: driven and motivated. The story: an old hand comes out of retirement to guide an up-and-coming talent. A talent who takes on the German sole ruler, which betrayed the origin of the film in Formula 1 during the heyday of Michael Schumacher. Burt Reynolds played a wheelchair-bound team boss who bore a striking resemblance to Frank Williams.
It was enjoyable, but for all the wrong reasons. Rarely have I laughed so much at a movie. Everyone was talking to the talent via the radio: the engineer, the team boss, the journalist, and – why not – even the girlfriend. And you should take this guidance literally: the talent was even whispered whether to turn right or left. That’s not coaching, that’s the work of a guide dog for the blind. The climax was when the talent left the circuit in his car and his mentor chased him in his own car. Through regular traffic, blowing over the magazine kiosk, sucking the manhole covers out of the asphalt. Well, you can be grumpy and want to express it.
Flops for Brad Pitt too?
I barely know what F1 is about, but the premise suggests the worst: the old pro comes out of retirement to guide the rising talent. And while Pitt looks great and can easily pass for a forty-year-old, we all know he’s in his sixties. This undermines the credibility of the film even before the start lights are out. Stallone was also too old for the role at the time, a fifty-year-old, and with his bulky body crammed into a ChampCar, it was also laughable. Driven gets an average score of 2.9 from critics on IMDb and a 4.6 from reviews, but I’m sure the numbers would skyrocket if you rebranded the film as a comedy.
The fact is that with all attempts to capture the magic of Formula 1 in film, the flops pile up. I fear that Pitt too will spectacularly crash amidst an overdose of spectacular crashes. But still, I have to see it with my own eyes.
