Doc vs Bipoic
This week, I’ll be reviewing Rush, the F1 film starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl as racing rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda respectively. I am not an F1 fan. Even if I had Jenson Button begging me to watch, I would refuse. So imagine my surprise when I came out of Rush, buzzing, having seen one of my favourite films of 2013. It was like Senna, who could guess the effect that had on so many?
It got me thinking about the advantages of documentary over a biopic, or vice versa. The drivers in Rush are portrayed brilliantly I think, both of the main actors have clearly studied their real-life counterparts and the rivalry and tension between them is as real and tangible as if we were watching a documentary. Compare it with Senna then, where the entertainment factor is incredibly high, due again, in part, to the real anger and strain between Ayrton Senna and his nemesis, Alain Prost. Nothing was lost in making Rush a slightly fictionalised version of real events, it still had the power and oomph that Senna delivers with real footage. You still laugh, you still cry, your heart is constantly in your mouth at the sheer stupidity of the drivers, real and acting.
The way that director Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon, The Da Vinci Code, A Beautiful Mind) chose to film Rush was to ensure that the actors looked as similar as possible to the real deal. The admirable part is that he was successful and although looks aren’t everything, they are crucial when asking your audience to suspend your disbelief.
Hemsworth and Hunt
Bruhl and Lauda
Pretty good likenesses, right?
Would a documentary of the Lauda/Hunt rivalry have been better? More entertaining? Probably not, plus in biopics, the scope is huge. In docs, you don’t always get to see the private, behind-the-scenes sagas but they can be imagined in biopics. You don’t also need to see James Hunt naked in bed with two other women, just to prove his ‘playboy’ status. But the biopic feels the need to include these images and I wonder if it were done as a doc, would they still be there? Just because you can, doesn’t mean you must. But I suppose the temptation of having Chris Hemsworth willing to get naked was an attraction too great to resist. There is tragedy in both, handled delicately and with honesty. I would have always said that I prefer biopics, because they pick out the entertaining aspects and enhance them but Senna is so open and beautifully crafted that every minute is gripping, because you know the story is finite. Sorry if you didn’t know…
To sum up, I think in this instance, the documentary wins. But the biopic is a legitimate and fantastic way of getting some real-life drama in your life and it doesn't come any more dramatic than Rush.
Rush is out this Friday. See it. Senna has been out for three years. See it.
Rush Trailer
Senna Trailer
