If the demands of presiding over a Formula One (F1®) team can be compared arguably with a NASA launch, then “F1®–The Movie” (Apple Original Films), showing now at the Montrose Playhouse, accomplishes its mission. “F1®” is to filmmaking technology what F1® is to engineering technology. And, if racing cars are your thing, then you will likely learn a great deal along the way.
Sonny Hayes, played by Brad Pitt, a “gambling junkie who missed his slot” is brought out of retirement by APX owner Ruben Cervantes, played by Javier Bardem, to rescue his racing team (APXGP) from oblivion. He butts in on a much younger driver, Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris, who naturally enough is resentful at “uncle’s” take over. As they start in last place, the only way is up. And although the plot is as flimsy as a sheet of greaseproof paper, the dialog is surprisingly quick-witted: “It’s a nickname—you don’t get to choose,” “The board are calling [the team] ‘Ruben’s Inferno,’” “Grateful kid who will bend the knee,” “I’ll start listening to you when you finish a race,” “What does Ferrari think of APX?”—“We don’t!” “[The frontal cortex] is not fully formed at your age.”
The film is a priceless masterclass in sound editing and photography. Those who want to learn how to layer sound from different origins, write musical scores, use background commentary to advance a plot (“…showing no ill effects from that time off the track”), overlay data schematics onto faces, set up camera shots from every conceivable angle (and several I hadn’t conceived of before) should pay very close attention. Of this list, the sound is in pole position (sorry…couldn’t resist…).
The soundtrack is certainly loud enough. What delighted me, though, was the hierarchy of sounds. Initally, and predictably enough, our brains process the noise from the cars—engines, tyres, whizzing. But listen carefully: the loudest component is the music, folllwed by the conversation—through headsets between the drivers and the (multiple voices from the) technical team, Joshua talking more quickly that Sonny—then the cars, then the racetrack announcer. This is important because it allows the hierarchy to be quickly reordered—the engines replacing the music, coming in from various parts of the surround-sound system, dramatic crescendos in the volume of the announcers. The effect is to precisely mirror the alternating ranking of cars in the race itself as one overtakes another. We become sensitised to this dazzlingly effective style, race by race, and momentum is carried forward. Hans Zimmer’s score is of the highest possible quality; his use of crescendo and decrescendo is especially rich, flipping quickly between the two reflects the sound as if standing in a certain fixed position in the stands.
Part of the film is temptingly shot in Las Vegas at night. The famous lights of the “Strip” are the star; the characters are the background. Vegas, it seems to be saying, is always there. Take a nicely mounted scene on an outside balcony high up in a luxury hotel. What we see with our eyes is two people talking to each other. What we hear is, yes, the actors talking, but then (again hierarchically) a symphonic score—now mostly slow, low strings—and the traffic several floors below, at street level. I found myself looking down in search of the cars which aren’t actually part of the shot.
Brad Pitt’s role is, in part, a reprise of one of his most famous roles, Rusty, a Las Vegas gambling teacher in “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001) In that role he was famously eating in every scene; here, he uses the same mannerisms but without the food. But Damson Idris more than holds his own. Cocky, arrogant, a lot to learn; what he likes about his job is “money, fame, and free clothes.” He really enjoys digging in: “APX are giving second chances to the elderly.” “Coming for you old man!” “Old man…you losing your hearing?” The back-and-forward with his agent, who wants him to “hit sponsor or social events,” or to “start by winning over the press,” is also brilliant. The film holds back on his clearly dangerous levels of obsession about what people think of him, checking and rechecking his phone for social media updates; neither he nor the audience are convinced much by the line, “It’s all just noise; media engagement; followers.” As well as a pesky English baddie (why not?), another super minor character is Joshua’s mum, played by Sarah Niles, who tells her son the truth, “you spend your whole time worrying about other people;” when Sonny arrives on the scene, she seems to fancy him—only to take him apart for risking Joshua’s life.
But it is the motorsport itself which is worth cherishing in “F1®.” The five double-red signals at the start, BBC-News-style pips counting down five-four-three-two-one, camera moving in closer second by second, until only the lights are in the frame, music hovering breathlessly on a single note; the red goes out and the roar is on. And a second hat-tip for the schematics from various computer readouts overlaid on the live actors—it is very, very elegant. The number of displays, graphics, real-time data pouring in—it’s gluttony for petrolheads.
At 2 hours and 34 minutes, sometimes it feels as if the filmmakers are overgorging themselves. And often the dialog is so fast that anyone for whom English is a second language would certainly need subtitles. I can’t finish a review without noting the product placements: it would be impossible for me to even try to list them all. I have never seen anything like it in a movie. But that, too, is the reality. F1® is about politics, money and sponsors.
Still, in a summer schedule notable for its sequels, “F1®” is high-octane ingenuity. Fans will admire the fascinating details: all the gear, the race tactics (“a two stop, medium-hard-medium,” “raise the tyre pressure for three quick laps,”), the countless camera views from inside the cars (amazing how big the wheels are from the driver’s perspective). And especially the ton of technical data amassed: “Ten thousand sensors on this thing and you can’t tell me what’s going on!”
Adam Poole
27th June 2025
If you are interested in viewing this screening, please book your tickets here
