Rush (2013) - Ron Howard

By Lara Culcu.

Warning: Contains Spoilers. Based on a true story.

Based on the true story of the rivalry between Formula One racers Niki Lauda and James Hunt, Rush is electric.

There is seldom a boring moment, but it doesn't fall into the trap of constant action that some other films do. We are given ample time to breathe while watching the interactions between Niki and his eventual wife, Marlene, as well as James and his own wife, Suzy, who later leaves him for Richard Burton, causing a major scandal. 

In addition to this, we also see the two drivers interacting with each other - interactions tinged with anger, tension, and in the end, grudging respect. 

It's worth noting right from the start that the film takes liberties with real life. Niki Lauda himself stated that the film is 80% correct, and the 20% isn't incorrect enough to bother fans who are watching the film out of their love for the sport and the drivers. 

For example, Lauda and Hunt were good friends in real life, even sharing a flat together as roommates during their F3 days, with Lauda later letting Hunt move in with him again when the latter faced problems due to his alcoholism. They spent a lot of time together off-track, and considered themselves close friends. 

Following Niki's withdrawal from the season finale Japanese Grand Prix in 1976 due to heavy rain combined with the fact that his horrific crash only months ago left his tear ducts severely damaged, passing the championship win to James, Hunt stated: 

"I feel really sorry for Niki. I feel sorry for everybody that the race had to be run in such ridiculous circumstances, and quite honestly, you know I wanted to win the championship, and I felt I deserved to win the championship. I also felt that Niki deserved to win the championship, and I just wish we could have shared it." 

This is all left out of the film. What is left in the film is the intense rivalry between them, starting in F3 and continuing all the way to F1, where they regularly battled each other for the championship.

The media will always sensationalize everything if there's a chance to squeeze more entertainment out of it. And that's exactly what Rush does - dramatizing a story that is already exceedingly dramatic.

Lauda's voiceover in the start of the film conveys this point perfectly: "I don't know why it became such a big thing. We were just drivers. Busting each other's balls. To me this is perfectly normal. But other people saw it differently." 

The film sets up Lauda as the underdog, showing how Hunt's popularity exceeds his by far and implying that Lauda was relatively unknown compared to Hunt when he started in F3. 

Everyone likes James, but doesn't respect him. No one likes Niki, but everyone respects him. 

At least, that is what the film is trying to say. 

Hunt is regularly depicted as flirting with women, drinking champagne in parties after triumphant wins, while Lauda lingers on the outskirts. He is massively popular, but his team often discusses how he is a liability, and no one wants to sign him in F1. 

His talent can't be denied, but he has nowhere near the amount of dedication that Lauda does.

Lauda is portrayed as the straight man - he marries in jeans, and when his new wife asks him how he feels, he states that happiness is dangerous. Fun guy. 

However, he is ultimately more likable than Hunt. It's hard to dislike a guy who is so dedicated to his craft - even his cockiness is endearing when he states that he's the best driver.

Daniel Brühl is magnificent in his role as Niki Lauda. He gets his Austrian accent exactly correct, as well as his mannerisms. Later, after his notorious 1976 crash at Nürburgring, the make-up department does a fantastic job of recreating Lauda's famous facial scars.

It is a crime that he wasn't nominated for an Oscar for this role, though understandable given the intense competition in the Best Actor category that year. He is serious when he needs to be, and pulls off comedy even when he is entirely deadpan. 

"It's a Ferrari" "It's a shit box!" is an exchange that is one of the highlights of the film, to the extent where it has become a meme in the F1 fan community. It is rare to find a post on a fan account mentioning Ferrari's relatively unsuccessful 2020 season without someone quoting Rush. 

And for good reason. Lauda is credited with contributing to the development of the Ferrari into the unstoppable machine it was in those years. He worked closely with the team, meticulously inspecting every part of the car, and this aspect of his personality is shown clearly in the film. 

Chris Hemsworth, playing the role of James Hunt, isn't given the challenging role that Brühl was, but he plays Hunt to the best degree that he can. The extent of his complexity reaches a few scenes where he is moping around with a beer bottle in his hand and a satisfying moment where he beats up a journalist for insulting Lauda. 

It stands to reason that Lauda is the more compelling character, and speaking for myself personally, I found myself wishing we were following Niki instead during the scenes where we were watching the breakdown of Hunt's marriage to Suzy Miller. 

Suzy (Olivia Wilde) is a fairly sympathetic character that never quite crosses over into the territory of likable. We feel bad for her in her struggles in her marriage to a husband who is rapidly descending into alcoholism, and that sympathy is quickly snatched away when she runs off with Richard Burton (Who was supposed to be played by Russell Crowe in a scrapped scene).

Marlene (Alexandra Maria Lara) is slightly more likable in her healthy marriage with Niki, where she offers him unconditional support rather than resentment, but that is all she is there for - support. Both Suzy and Marlene only exist as side characters in their husbands' stories. 

While it is true that that's the definition of a supporting character, it would have been worth giving them slightly more personality than: "Famous, hot wife" and "Level-headed, quiet wife". There are no developed female characters in the film, the existing ones only there as character archetypes, but this reflects the real-life state of Formula One. 

The reality is that Formula One is very much a male-dominated sport, with little room for women except in positions in the teams themselves rather than on track, so it makes sense that a film about two male racers wouldn't devote a lot of time to developing its female characters. 

Rush isn't the kind of movie that requires you to analyze the deeper social implications. 

It's fun, plain and simple. The racing sequences are shot wonderfully, with a fluid sense of motion in the camera, and the choreography of the Nürburgring crash is remarkably accurate. The interactions between Lauda and Hunt are delightful to watch, from their childish squabbling ("Remember ze [sic] name. Very simple. 'Hunt'. It rhymes with a word that happens to describe you perfectly") to the meaningful conversation they have in the final scene of the film. 

The voiceover at the end is heart wrenching. It reminds you of what could have been if only James was a little more conscious of his health and his lifestyle - but the entirety of the film itself gets across the point that his fate was the consequence of the way he lived his life. If he were to live a different way, he wouldn't have been himself. 'Hunt the Shunt', the legendary playboy of F1. 

Similarly, Rush drills in the point that Niki, known by the unfortunate nicknames 'The Rat' or 'King Rat' due to his buck teeth, was an extremely methodical person compared to James, both in his personal and professional life. 

He embodies the German expression "Es ist noch kein Meister vom Himmel gefallen." A master hasn't yet fallen from the sky. In English, masters are made, not born. 

But we can't help but get the feeling that despite the fact that he is depicted as a hard worker, a lot of his talent is natural. His talent is certainly there, but it is his dedication and determination that made him develop into one of the most legendary F1 racers of all time; a 3-time champion. 

That is the point the movie seems to be making. Look what happens if you rely on your natural talent. Talent and hard work are best when they are combined, and that seems to be what the movie is trying to tell us when juxtaposing Niki's successful career with James's early death of a heart attack.

It is a study of two very different people who have different methods of working towards the same goal. Certainly, there is no right path to a championship. 

James Hunt and Niki Lauda are both champions - two people who are very different, yet who have always been associated with each other. 

At the start of the film, Lauda says in a voiceover, "We have no control over our legacy. We cannot choose what we are remembered for... Otherwise I wouldn’t be remembered for my rivalry with this asshole."

In the end, the viewer truly does walk away with the idea that Lauda and Hunt have always been known as a pair. That is the trap that a lot of sports rivalry films fall into - implying that the characters are known for their rivalries rather than their own merits. 

This is not true. Niki Lauda and James Hunt are both legends, known for their own careers rather than solely their rivalry with each other. 

But for 2 hours, we watch them battle each other with both their wits and their cars, and the story the film wants to tell is told perfectly. 

Niki Lauda and James Hunt.