RUSH: A GREAT MOVIE (AND NOT JUST FOR PETROLHEADS!)
All film plots are premised on duality – the struggle of
good against evil, hope against despair, and honour against duplicity – and I
have trouble thinking of a film where this is more starkly portrayed than in ‘Rush’.
Rush tells the story of the epic confrontation between the
brash, hedonistic and passionate James Hunt and the sober, calculating and
oh-so-disciplined Nikki Lauda when the two vied to win the Formula One
championship in 1976. That this is a film based on real-life events makes the
contrast between the two lead characters all the more vivid and all the more
fascinating. And ‘vivid’ and ‘fascinating’ are exactly the two adjectives needed
to describe ‘Rush’.
Director Ron Howard (with the assistance some great
cinematography, tremendous editing and a terrific soundtrack) has managed to
capture the visceral quality of F1 in the ‘70s and to convey just how dangerous
it really was. The final race scene – at a waterlogged Japanese Grand Prix – is
a masterpiece both technically and emotionally: it is one of the few movies
where I actually felt I was part of the action. Vivid indeed.
But it’s often the case in today’s movies that strong visuals
are often accompanied by a flaccid script and one-dimensional characters. This
is not the case with ‘Rush’. The central performances – Chris Hemsworth as Hunt
and Daniel Brühl as Lauda – were excellent, both actors managing to nuance
their characters to suggest depth and doubt. The development of their relationship
as it segued from intense dislike to grudging respect is what makes the movie
such a fascinating watch.
Criticisms are minor. I thought Lauda’s repetition of the
morbid statistic that every time he raced he had a 20% chance of dying was
larding the danger on a little (apart from being mathematically inaccurate) and
perhaps the final scene was a tad schmaltzy but other than that … nothing.
A great movie and one that I would highly recommend.
Rod: 8/10
Nelli: 9/10
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