You Have Been Listening To… : Part III

It is time to discreetly begin to draw the curtains for Christmas. There will be no more reviews by me of new releases on 103.2 Dublin City FM this year. But here’s a round-up of links to the previous editions of Sunday Breakfast with Patrick Doyle and a list of the many films we discussed since June if you’re eager to explore the back catalogue.

JUNE

X-Men: Dark Phoenix + Classic Ghostbusters II + Classic The Matrix

https://www.mixcloud.com/patrickdoyle/9619-the-sunday-breakfast-show-with-patrick-doyle/

Balloon + TV Choice The Accountant + Classic Dr Strangelove

https://www.mixcloud.com/patrickdoyle/16619-the-sunday-breakfast-show-with-patrick-doyle/

Brightburn + TV Choice Dial M for Murder + Classic Mean Girls

https://www.mixcloud.com/patrickdoyle/23619-the-sunday-breakfast-show-with-patrick-doyle/

Yesterday + TV Choice Casino Royale + Classic Superman II

https://www.mixcloud.com/patrickdoyle/30619-the-sunday-breakfast-show-with-patrick-doyle/

JULY

Apollo 11 + TV Choice Bullitt + Classic Rear Window

https://www.mixcloud.com/patrickdoyle/7719-the-sunday-breakfast-show-with-patrick-doyle/

Stuber + TV Choice Jaws + Classic Ma Nuit Chez Maud

https://soundcloud.com/patrickseandoyle/the-sunday-breakfast-show-film-review-14719

The Current War + TV Choice Arrival + Classic Gone with the Wind

https://soundcloud.com/patrickseandoyle/the-sunday-breakfast-show-film-review

AUGUST

Hobbs & Shaw + TV Choice The Guest + Classic It Happened One Night

https://soundcloud.com/patrickseandoyle/the-sunday-breakfast-show-film-review-1

The Art of Racing in the Rain + TV Choice Patriots Day + Classic Phase IV

https://soundcloud.com/patrickseandoyle/talking-film-on-the-sunday-breakfast-show

Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood + TV Choice Dirty Harry + Classic Army of Shadows

https://soundcloud.com/patrickseandoyle/talking-film-on-the-sunday-breakfast-show-1

Pain and Glory + TV Choice White House Down + Classic Little Women

 SEPTEMBER

Crawl + TV Choice Gone Girl + Classic Whiskey Galore!

IT: Chapter 2 + TV Choice X-Men: Days of Future Past + Classic The Italian Job

https://soundcloud.com/patrickseandoyle/talking-film-on-the-sunday-breakfast-show-2

Extra Ordinary + TV Choice Batman Begins + Classic Ghostbusters

https://www.mixcloud.com/patrickdoyle/15919-the-sunday-breakfast-show-with-patrick-doyle/

Ad Astra + TV Choice Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me + Classic The Godfather: Part II

https://www.mixcloud.com/patrickdoyle/22919-the-sunday-breakfast-show-with-patrick-doyle/

Ready or Not + TV Choice L’Avenir + Classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

https://www.mixcloud.com/patrickdoyle/29919-the-sunday-breakfast-show-with-patrick-doyle/

OCTOBER

Joker + Judy + Classic White Heat

https://www.mixcloud.com/patrickdoyle/61019-the-sunday-breakfast-show-with-patrick-doyle/

Gemini Man + TV Choice Now You See Me + Classic Fight Club

https://www.mixcloud.com/patrickdoyle/131019-the-sunday-breakfast-show-with-patrick-doyle/

Dark Lies the Island + TV Choice Good Night, and Good Luck + Classic Crimes & Misdemeanours

https://www.mixcloud.com/patrickdoyle/201019-the-sunday-breakfast-show-with-patrick-doyle/

Countdown + TV Choice The Shallows + Classic Them!

https://www.mixcloud.com/patrickdoyle/the-halloween-show-with-patrick-doyle/

NOVEMBER

Doctor Sleep + TV Choice Kingsman: The Secret Service + Classic Girl, Interrupted

https://www.mixcloud.com/patrickdoyle/101119-the-sunday-breakfast-show/

Le Mans ’66 + TV Choice Funeral in Berlin + Classic Rio Bravo

https://www.mixcloud.com/patrickdoyle/171119-the-sunday-breakfast-show-with-patrick-doyle/

DECEMBER

Marriage Story + TV Choice World War Z + Classic Field of Dreams

https://www.mixcloud.com/patrickdoyle/

Notes on Le Mans ’66

Le Mans ’66 was the film of the week much earlier today on Sunday Breakfast with Patrick Doyle.

A more accurate title would be The Road to Le Mans ’66 and in America rather than Ford v Ferrari it should be Ford Middle Management v Shelby Racing.

Le Mans ’66 starts promisingly with a startling recreation of racing Le Mans at night, mist obscuring a dark country road interspersed with fast cars being handled recklessly. But at 2 hours 34 minutes this is more accurately The Road to Le Mans ’66 as it is a good 1 hour and 42 minutes into the film before Bale sets foot in France. The script by the Brothers Butterworth and Jason Keller is fairly rambling, and leaves a distinctly bitter taste in the mouth after the epic run time. Bale’s performance is a curate’s egg: the showy weight loss, the Brummie accent that frequently hits Liverpool, the nervous tics and arrogant mouthing off like Liam Gallagher crossed with Bale’s meth-head in The Fighter. His quietest moments are most effective, so you wonder why Mangold sanctioned this way of playing Miles.

Damon is on far surer ground as Shelby, a man continually trying to find his footing as the world keeps changing on him. Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders devolve into generic Zimmer for the finale at Le Mans, but prior to that provide an interesting score inflected with the jazz of the time; with numerous delicate touches of rich double bass and whispering drums. Mangold’s semi-regular cinematographer Phedon Papamichael provides some dizzying shots of high-paced vehicular mayhem, but you yearn for an artsy long-take from a low-mounted camera to really capture the feel of the perfect 3:33 lap so often mentioned. Ultimately this isn’t really Ford v Ferrari, so much as a battle of wills between talented people who are experts in their field and just need money versus people who are complete idiots but for egregious reasons have money.

Listen here:

Le Mans ’66

Director James Mangold reunites with his 3:10 to Yuma star Christian Bale for a less satisfying movie about driving fast cars.

Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) wins the 24 hour endurance race at Le Mans in 1959 only to be invalided out of motor-sports by a dodgy ticker. Instead he tries to run a racing team of his own, dealing with irascible driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) with the help of trusted mechanic Phil (Ray McKinnon). And then Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) comes calling, desperate to make Ford cool again by importing some European glamour to the brand by taking down Ferrari. The ego of Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) leads to an attempt to magick into existence a car capable of winning Le Mans. But Ford II’s ego is matched only by his underling Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas). He is not as forgiving as Ken’s wife Mollie (Caitriona Balfe) and son Peter (Noah Jupe) when Ken Miles bluntly speaks his mind…

Le Mans ’66 starts promisingly with a startling recreation of racing Le Mans at night, mist obscuring a dark country road interspersed with fast cars being handled recklessly. But at 2 hours 34 minutes this is more accurately The Road to Le Mans ’66 as it is a good 1 hour and 42 minutes into the film before Bale sets foot in France. The script by the Brothers Butterworth and Jason Keller is fairly rambling, and leaves a distinctly bitter taste in the mouth after the epic run time. Bale’s performance is a curate’s egg: the showy weight loss, the Brummie accent that frequently hits Liverpool, the nervous tics and arrogant mouthing off like Liam Gallagher crossed with Bale’s meth-head in The Fighter. His quietest moments are most effective, so you wonder why Mangold sanctioned this way of playing Miles.

Damon is on far surer ground as Shelby, a man continually trying to find his footing as the world keeps changing on him. Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders devolve into generic Zimmer for the finale at Le Mans, but prior to that provide an interesting score inflected with the jazz of the time; with numerous delicate touches of rich double bass and whispering drums. Mangold’s semi-regular cinematographer Phedon Papamichael provides some dizzying shots of high-paced vehicular mayhem, but you yearn for an artsy long-take from a low-mounted camera to really capture the feel of the perfect 3:33 lap so often mentioned. Ultimately this isn’t really Ford v Ferrari, so much as a battle of wills between talented people who are experts in their field and just need money versus people who are complete idiots but for egregious reasons have money.

This is not really a feel-good movie, in fact it’s almost a feel-bad movie, about the struggles of racing guys against middle management, with the villain being the spite of an egotistical empty suit.

3/5