An Adrenaline High On ‘Rush’

The Racing Rivalry Of ‘Rush’!

Caught a brilliant movie last weekend. A great, engaging and involving movie after a long long time. It is now time to recommend it to all of you. Mind you, this is not a review, simply a synopsis of my feelings on the movie. To tell you the truth, I had my eyes closed for long enough during the movie to not be able to write a complete review anyway.

So, anyways, the movie you definitely need to catch this week is ‘Rush’. Not the sad, sloppy and unbearably intolerable Hindi movie ‘Rush’ (the Emraan Haashmi kind), but the fantastic, biopic cum real-life drama converted to reel-life screenplay Hollywood movie ‘Rush’ (with the God-like Thor on the posters).

Confession Time

Despite the chiseled, muscled Thor (sorry, I must call him that, his name is too ordinary for his physical persona) in the movie’s posters, and a trailer that had hot men, fast cars and fantastic dialogues, I was a little skeptical about this movie. Considering my ‘watering pot’ tendencies and my much-boasted about high EQ, I would have preferred a ‘Diana’ as opposed to a ‘Rush’.

Thank God sanity prevailed and I was saved by my husband who ushered me into the right theater and saved me from a tepid ‘Diana’ (ONCE AGAIN, he claims, though of course, that’s debatable). From the very first minute of the movie, I was engrossed in the script and till the very last frame, I was hooked on what comes next. I am glad I caught it really.

The Ooohs And Aaahs

No, I am not going to harp on the director Ron Howard’s previous genius, nor am I going to go on and on about Thor (oh though that is truly an insurmountable temptation), I am just going to list out the things that make this movie so very special to me.

• Character Portrayal:

Characters were etched so perfectly that one would not even imagine that they were actors who were given the task of playing two real characters and bringing forth a true and real rivalry.

All credit to the screenplay writer Peter Morgan for bringing forth each minute details of the complete antithesis of personalities between the 1970s star racers Niki Lauda and James Hunt.

All credit to the casting experts who hooked in Chris Hemsworth (James Hunt) and Daniel Brühl (Niki Lauda) to play characters that didn’t really look like characters but in reality felt like they were simply acting themselves out.

• Dialogues:

Singular credit to the person responsible for dialogues that left a mark on me and had me reliving them even as you left the theater. I particularly applaud the barbs that went too and fro between the two rivals, while still leaving you feeling a little good in the tummy with their unmistakable underlying camaraderie and the ‘taking turns’ on having the last word in. I simply loved it! I bet you will too.

To tell you the truth, the dialogues were so good that they went past mere words and gave a glimpse into what emotions really drove the two men to say the things they said, to do the things they did and to hate each other the way they did. It is the dialogues that leave you feeling the heat of an enmity that sometimes went ‘below the belt’ (if you know what I mean), and yet had the power to drag one from death’s door simply to maintain the connection and superiority with and over the other. Unbelievable stuff!

The dialogues also gave me wonderful insight on how men really work, especially men who have had a taste of fame, are motivated not just to win but to best the other and who lead full lives and yet envy the outward lives and personalities of the other. The barbs were succinct, the put downs crisp and the arguments believable. 

The genius of the dialogue writer is such that even a scene that would have let the whole script down, a scene that could easily have turned into a sappy, emotional affair (where both meet towards the end and understand what they mean to each other), ended being a truly all-male sequence.

• Racing Sequences

The way these scenes were shot was a miracle in my eyes. The scenes were shot so true to life that I actually thought I was behind the wheel of one such race car and the scenes were unfolding right before my eyes (well, not behind the wheel exactly, I’d have a heart attack, more like sitting pillion, no wait! that’s worse… well, you get what I mean right?).

I have never really followed formula one, but maybe, just maybe, this movie will get me on board now. The movie had me believing that yes, I now believe science, females have a little testosterone too!

Can’t really say more on these scenes. The rain, the speed, the tracks, the tires… everything’s covered and you really just have to see the movie to know more. My writing genius is no where near the camera man’s genius, so will let this go right here.

The Boos and Bahs

Like most movies, the movie did have some flaws, though I really had to think about them (no one can blame me, I only had eyes for Thor). For one thing and at risk of appearing prudish, the movie is very ‘adult’ when it need not have been. I mean I understand if the nude scenes are integral to the script but if you see the movie. you’ll know that they are simply not necessary.

Yes, we already got that James was something of a Casanova from his scenes with the nurse and air hostess, but really, there was no need of nudes (not that I’m complaining about one scene in particular at least). Olivia Wilde did not give any such shots and trust me, the others were not necessary either. Oh well, what are a few vices for such a great story and script.

Another thing that bugged me was the showing of the medical scenes. I cannot talk much about them, as I had my eyes shut to the point of pushing my eyeballs right in through the eye sockets. But I couldn’t do the same with my ears. And, even the sounds were gruesome! Wish I didn’t have such an active imagination that I could play the scenes that went with the sounds in my head.

OF COURSE the scenes were necessary and 100 percent integral to the script, but that doesn’t mean I have to like them. I still like my stories to be Disney-like, where the only thing that could go wrong is that the coach can turn into a pumpkin at the most inopportune time. Oh well, great true story, fantastic performances and fabulous recreation of the events in the 1970s.

Things I love the most were the simple nitty gritties of life that were wonderfully caputured – Niki’s race to impress his girl, his obsession with risk probabilities, his hold on all things ‘cars’ related, etc, James’s retching before every match, his humane side when he thrashed the obnoxious reporter, his ability to take on risks beyond comprehension and his ability to stop when on a high!

Catch it guys!