“Rush”: Film Analysis

The year is 1970, at a Formula Three race at the Crystal Palace Circuit in England. James Hunt, a young, brash, charismatic British man with a tendency to get drunk before a race, and Niki Lauda, a cold, calculating Austrian who relies on superior technical racing skill, are pitted against one another for the first time in their storied careers. Both drivers’ cars spin out, with Hunt eventually winning the race. Following the race, after a fallout with his father, the primary financier of his racing career, Niki Lauda procures a large bank loan and buys his way onto the BRM Formula One racing team. Here, he meets teammate Clay Reggazzoni for the first time, eventually joining the racing team of Scuderia Ferrari with Reggazzoni just before the 1975 racing season, eventually winning his first championship. Meanwhile, James Hunt and his team, Hesketh Racing, enter Formula One as well. During Hesketh Racing’s adoption into Formula One, Hunt marries supermodel Suzy Miller, and Niki Lauda develops a relationship with Marlene Knaus. As the 1976 season begins, Niki Lauda wins the first few races of the year. James Hunt, meanwhile, has relocated to McLaren Racing, after Hesketh Racing failed to procure a sponsor and had to pull out of Formula One. Hunt wins the Spanish Grand Prix but is disqualified after a post-race inspection deems his car is too wide. McLaren suffers a series of setbacks, exacerbating Hunt’s poor position in the standings, adding to the fact that his wife is caught in a relationship with Richard Burton. As Hunt Struggles, Niki Lauda marries Marlene but starts to have concerns about the effect of the marriage on his racing. Regaining his competitive edge after his divorce, Hunt is set to face Lauda at the German Grand Prix. Lauda, concerned about the rain on an already dangerous track, attempts to convince the F1 committee to postpone the race. Hunt, after asserting to the committee that Lauda is just worried about losing points, convinces the committee to start the race at the scheduled time. During the race, a suspension arm on Lauda’s Ferrari breaks, causing him to careen into an embankment at high speed, his car erupting in flames and impacted by other racers afterward. Lauda stumbles from the wreckage and is airlifted to a hospital, where his injuries keep him from racing for nearly 2 months. Hunt, meanwhile, continues to rack up victories, with his previous disqualified victory at the Spanish Grand Prix being reinstated, placing him within reach of the season points title over the leader, Niki Lauda. The 1976 season comes to a climax at the Japanese Grand Prix, where Hunt’s late-race surge after technical issues propels him into third place, giving him a season points victory by one point.

Chris Hemsworth as James Hunt and Daniel Bruhl as Niki Lauda carry the film, paying true homage to their real-life characters. In the words of Niki Lauda, who made an appearance in archival footage near the end of the film, "When I saw it the first time I was impressed. There was no Hollywood changes or things changed a little bit Hollywood-like. It is very accurate. And this really surprised me very positively” (Stern). Hemsworth’s take on the hard-partying yet driven style of the blond, glamorous playboy Hunt is noteworthy, a man routinely pictured with a glass of champagne and several beautiful young women on his arm; in an early scene, he stumbles, bloody from a racetrack and into a hospital where he announces himself to the attendant behind the desk in “Bond” style as “Hunt, James Hunt,” only to be seen moments later, having intercourse with one of the nurses behind a screen. Daniel Bruhl’s turn as Niki Lauda is equally exhilarating, as his cold-precision style of racing begins to fail him once his marriage to Marlene Knaus takes place. Bruhl’s character sees the effects his newfound happiness is having on his driving and begins to see this happiness as weakness. Hemsworth’s character, while initially coming off as a happy-go-lucky young man, begins to show through to the audience as coveting the very type of happiness his rival Lauda has found, as his wild antics begin to seem driven by loneliness and desperation. Lending a unique look inside the private lives of their significant others are Olivia Wilde (Suzy Miller) and Alexandria Mary Lara (Marlene Lauda). The two reflect just how completely different their significant others are while adding a sort of vulnerability to their roles.

The cinematography of the film was carried out by Anthony Dod Mantle, of “127 Hours” and “Slumdog Millionaire,” for which he won an award for “Best Cinematography.” His portrayal of the racing scenes is top-notch, as the roar of the engines and the buzz of tires on the track as they whiz past the audience is glaringly loud, and puts you front and center as if you were truly attending the race. The cuts during the racing scenes are lightning-quick and prove Mantle's penchant for structuralism in film, with what look to be perilously dangerous, close-up boom shots, lending a sense of speed one wouldn’t be able to connote through the simple static shot of cars racing one another. According to a review in “The Telegraph,” there were nearly three dozen cameras deployed around the track for the racing scenes, with many of them being positioned on cars, and even inside some racers helmet’s (Gritten).

The extra work pays off, as the point of view close-ups of both Hunt and Lauda as they whip around at high speeds along some of racing’s most infamous tracks, while inside what Hunt describes in the movie as “coffins on wheels,” creates a type of thrilling intensity to the film. The combination of a thrilling score, mixed with the fast-paced cuts in the visual production and the wild boom shots that send you flying alongside both racers vehicles, creates the atmosphere of actually being at that final Japanese Grand Prix race in 1976, and as the race begins, you’re buckled in and on the edge of your seat as the two compete on the rain-soaked track.

This film really caught my attention for the spectacular work done in the editing department. I was blown away by the realistic sense of speed that was being conveyed via all of the working parts, from the booming sound of the race cars to the wild shouts of both the crowd and the drivers, and the excitement felt at the prospect of a finally healthy Niki Lauda and a transcendent James Hunt as they faced one another for a final showdown. Some aspects of the film that really worked were the performances from Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhn. More so than Hemsworth’s portrayal of Hunt, which was similar to his other works (“Cabin in the Woods” and “Thor” both cast Chris Hemsworth as a young and brash individual), Daniel Bruhn as Niki Lauda was incredibly convincing, as his lack of emotion even in the face of the high and low points in his life, his marriage and his injury hiatus from racing, gave the viewer the sense that this man was more than just pragmatic; he was committed to perfection, and would settle for nothing less. I found the first half of the movie, which seemed to center more on the life of Niki Lauda, to be far more interesting than the latter half portraying James Hunt’s resurgence as a Formula One racing champion.

That being said, Chris Hemsworth has proved himself as exceedingly capable in this film, as his ascent to a championship sees his character realistically, successfully and in heartbreaking fashion, deal with infidelity in his marriage and the guilt of pushing that fateful German Grand Prix race to continue as planned, where his later compatriot, Lauda, suffers grave injury after an accident. His competitive rebirth following his divorce is exhilarating, and his character redeems himself to the point that the subsequent final showdown in Japan gives no easy choice as far as whom to root for. This film is very much alike Director Ron Howard’s previous films, such as “Cinderella Man” and “Apollo 13,” in that the dramatic turns throughout the movie keeps the viewer emotionally attached to the characters, and gives them even more reason to stay invested through frequent peaks inside their personal lives and relationships. As such, the character development reveals the iconic racers Hunt and Lauda as simply human, with all too familiar hopes, dreams, aspirations and personal hang-ups. The film doesn’t fall into any racing movie cliché’s, which in the past have seen race car films devolve into more of a glorification of the sport, rather than a film intent on telling a specific story. In “Rush,” racing takes a back seat to the life stories of Lauda and Hunt, and that dramatic 1976 season in which one attained the respect he so desired, while the other realized his own personal happiness, despite failing on his self-imposed doctrine of perfection. This film doesn’t take too many creative liberties, as Hollywood is wont to do, and as such delivers a far more genuine feeling product that gives you a peek inside the 1976 Formula One Racing season, as seen through the eyes of the two major players. The only conjecture that is made throughout, are the conversations that took place behind closed doors, which the film, in an effort to remain genuine, attempts to recreate, with dramatic flair.

“Rush” has gone on to critical acclaim, but has yet to attain box office success, as the movie has yet to gross its production total of $38 million, with $10.6 million procured on opening weekend (Moviefone). Despite the lack of commercial success, the movie was thoroughly enjoyable, with a fantastic score, dialed in performances by the main cast, especially Daniel Bruhn, and the cinematography and editing chops of a movie with twice the budget. “Rush” keeps you on the edge of your seat, as you delve into the troubled yet accomplished lives of two of racings all-time greats.

Works Cited

Gritten, David. "Rush, review - Telegraph." Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. N.p., 27 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/10281663/Rush-review.html

MovieFone. "Weekend Box Office: 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2' Tops 'Rush,' 'Don Jon' - The Moviefone Blog." The Moviefone Blog. N.p., 29 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. <http://news.moviefone.com/2013/09/29/weekend-box-office-cloudy-with-a-chance-of-meatballs-2/

Stern, Marlow. "Niki Lauda on His Career Rivalry and Near-Death Season in ‘Rush’ - Newsweek." Newsweek - Newsweek. N.p., 27 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. <http://mag.newsweek.com/2013/09/27/niki-lauda-on-his-career-rivalry-and-near-death-season-in-rush.html