Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Tinsel

Home
Religious Music & Entertainment
Review: ‘Rush’ Takes its Time Building a Smart, Masculine Story

Review: ‘Rush’ Takes its Time Building a Smart, Masculine Story

Last updated on: September 27, 2013 at 7:56 am by Rebecca Cusey

Review: ‘Rush’ Takes its Time Building a Smart, Masculine Story 2013-09-27T07:56:21-06:00 Rebecca Cusey

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“Men love women,” says a character in Rush, “But even more, they love cars.”

Both cars and women are fully, um, utilized in this movie about Formula One racing, but an even greater love develops over the course of the story: The affection a man feels for his greatest rival.

If there is a general rule of thumb in the movie theater, it would be that movies for men are fast, loud, explosive, and dumb while movies for women are slow, soft, quiet, and, well, also dumb.

Director Ron Howard has made a movie that will appeal more to men than to women, but to say that it’s loud and dumb would be doing it a great disservice.

Loud, yes.

Dumb, no. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, despite its Formula One race track setting.

Rush tells the true, almost unbelievable story of a great 1970s rivalry between Brit James Hunt and Austrian Nikki Lauda. Equally great on the track, their styles could not be more different off it. Hunt, played with great ease by Chris Hemsworth, is a free-wheelin’, full-throttle kind of guy. He never stops to think about, well, anything. It would ruin his charm.

Lauda, played in a fantastic performance by Daniel Bruhl, comes across as cold, calculated, and unfriendly. He assesses each situation, on the field and off, almost like a math problem. Races as well as relationships are subject to a cost-benefit analysis.

Hunt wouldn’t know a cost-benefit analysis if he hit one like a brick wall at full speed.

There could not be an odder odd couple and yet it is their differences and their intense rivalry that propel each to greater heights than they would have met alone. Even in the wake of a devastating crash, their competition becomes, more than any other factor, the thing that gets them on the track driving on the edge of sanity.

This particularly masculine dynamic is explored at great length in the movie. This is not to say women don’t have rivalries. We certainly do. And yet, there is something very masculine about the idea of a great rival becoming the most important person in someone’s life.

Thomas Edison versus Nikola Tesla

Steve Jobs versus Bill Gates

And Hunt verus Lauda.

Each character starts the story as generally unlikable: Hunt flippant and shallow in his libertine ways, Lauda prickly and unappealing. By the end of the film, however, there is a deep affection for each of them. That Howard does this without resorting to changing the essence of each’s character or overly emotive manipulation is a testament to his skill as well as that of the actors. If anything, each man becomes entrenched even more in his own character, but is softened through the lens of the other.

All this layered story perhaps sounds like the movie is a snoozefest, but it’s not. The engines rev and turn, pulses pound with daring zips and turns, and the pretty ladies keep parading through in various states of undress.

Rated R, the movie candidly shows Hunt’s promiscuous ways, complete with partial female nudity. His habit of bedding every attractive woman he sees is embedded deep in his character and not without its consequences. Contrasted is Lauda’s cautious, almost passionless love that grows into something powerful. There’s plenty of salty language as well and some gruesome crash and medical scenes. In fact, 1970s medical procedures in the hospital were the hardest part of the movie to watch.

This will be a movie women will like and men will love.

It’s nice to see a film for the guys that doesn’t feature anorexic chicks in leather hoisting huge guns or fighting robots destroying metropolises.

Good on you, Ron Howard.

Previous Post

September 25, 2013

Check out Dave Coulier's Clean Guys of Comedy Event September 26

Next Post

September 30, 2013 "Breaking Bad" Review: "Felina" Redeems Walt... Or Does It?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Becky's Picks Children's Movies DVD releases Entertainment News Faith on Film Featured Hunger Games In Theaters Interviews Life, Etc. Mixed Nuts Movie Reviews Poliflix Scroogewatch slider Television Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 April 2011 March 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who threw Daniel into the lion’s den?

Select your answer to see how you score.

King Nebuchadnezzar King Darius Pharaoh King Saul