Peter Morgan is probably better known to cinema-goers for scripting the likes of The Queen, The Last King of Scotland and Frost/Nixon. So in some ways he might not be the obvious choice if you were told that there was a film to be made about the dangerous life-and-death competition of Formula 1 racing. However while Rush, directed by Ron Howard and out this week, certainly doesn’t shirk on the incredible physical exhilaration, risks and tension that was wrought by the sport (especially in the more dangerous days of the 1970s and 1980s), this is a film that is very much the story about the personal differences and dynamics of two of the sport’s most dominant personalities: James Hunt and Niki Lauda.
Essentially, this is about the passion that drives the men who drive the cars... that passion being for fast cars, fast choices, women and – most importantly - winning. There’s no denying that Morgan’s script, Howard’s direction and the performances of Thor’s Chris Hemsworth (as James Hunt) and Inglourius Basterds’ Daniel Brühl as Lauda proves a powerful formula of their own, one that will likely satiate those looking for both a strong story and some white-knuckle moments.
Meeting Morgan, one of the important questions to ask him is how he made such a personality-led movie about a form of entertainment that is usually more concerned with simple momentum and spectacle. The writer admits that he was not a fan of the sport per se, and that the hook for him was more about the spirit of competition in general: how Hunt and Lauda became the very best of enemies.
“There’s something about it…you do instinctively feel that this is boys with toys. It doesn’t have the poetic and abhorrent grandeur of boxing when two men are just hitting each other, which seems even more moronic. But somehow it’s more elemental. With this I was just interested in the yin and the yang of these two guys. I needed to interest myself in order to find them. To me the racing is secondary,” Morgan admits. “I am amazed by how beautifully they filmed it. It’s such astonishing work. I say that as someone involved in it but I say it with completely objective admiration for what the cameraman, Ron Howard and (producer) Andrew Eaton were able to do on that budget.”
The story depicts all the attributes and foibles of the two men – Hunt, the larger-than-life playboy who enjoyed all the attention and benefits his successes attracted and Lauda, who often came across as cold and emotionless and overly obsessed with the purity of the sport. Given these were real men not archetypes (Hunt died in 1993, Lauda is still alive and a sought-after sport commentator) was it difficult to make a honest film and still get the cooperation of the two families – especially as there had been problems in the past?
“They were very nervous. We made it quite clear that not only had I never read the book [Shunt by Tom Rubython] but that we would never engage with Mr Rubython. We never met, we never spoke. And then we went and met them for dinner, James’s two brothers, and then gradually bit by bit [we agreed]. Ron Howard is just the most delightful human being. I think they looked in our eyes and felt that we weren’t out to just talk about James Hunt in bed...” Morgan explains. “This film doesn’t deal with the most complicated years of James Hunt’s life which came in retirement. I hope I’ve got his voice right. It was a struggle with Chris a little bit because Chris is Australian. Daniel and Niki had the advantage of being able to spend a lot of time together. I would love to have spent more time with a still-living James, and with James and Chris, and for me to hear the two of them together. But I hope I got them. There’s a darker movie to be written about James but that wasn’t 1976. That was his glory year...”
Long time Formula 1 fans will remember the spectacular and devastating crash that could have ended not only Lauda’s career but his life. It’s a cornerstone of the movie and horrific but important punctuation to the Lauda/Hunt dynamic. Presumably that was difficult to get right – both technically, visually and with Lauda aware of the process?
“I started showing Niki clips once we were in the rushes stage, once we had some scenes cut together. I sensed how emotional he would get. I had already been reading his scenes but once he started to see the footage… I never showed him the accident.”
Morgan often brings the motif of rivalry into the projects he takes, the idea of people clashing either physically or emotionally or by the nature of their ambition. Morgan admits that’s the case and that’s not likely to change anytime soon...
“I can’t seem to escape it, either. When I try and do something else the critics are really vicious. So I’ve been really beaten up every time I’ve stepped out of my little box which hasn’t made experimentation any easier. And then on top of that people then send me things. I’m working with Ang Lee at the moment, which is as wonderful as it gets but it’s another brutal rivalry between two people. I keep trying to spin it in a different way but I do seem to lock into these stories. I just hope I’m trying not to repeat myself!”
Rush is already being spoken off in terms of Oscars and award nominations. It’s certainly a powerful film for those who are willing to invest the time and effort. Those looking for quick, empty thrills may be disappointed, but the movie’s own momentum works in its favour – making you invest in the characters who truly made ‘action’ the centre of their lives - and understand their motivations before serving up the more visceral thrill of the races themselves. Hemsworth and Brühl give magnetic performances and there are strong supporting turns from the likes of Olivia Wilde and Christian McKay.
Lauda recently said in an interview that he wished Hunt was still alive to see Rush and that he thinks his competitor would have liked it. That is probably true - the film walks the line between dramatic narrative and actual history well and you see the men at their best and worst and still find them dynamic enough to cheer them both on before the credits roll. A bittersweet movie that puts its pedal to the metal and gives mileage to its engine, Rush delivers for those who like character as much as set-piece and there’s every reason to think that this is top gear, top drawer stuff.
Rush (15) is on the fast track for release by StudioCanal Friday 13th September.
