228. Mosley - It's Complicated; movie review

 

 

MOSLEY - IT'S COMPLICATED

Cert 15

92 mins

BBFC advice: Contains very strong language, strong sex references

It says much about the resonance of the national press that my immediate thought when I heard about Max Mosley's death was that he was the chap who was involved in an orgy.

It transpires there was a lot more to him than intriguing sexual encounters.

Mosley was a significant figure in motor racing for the best part of 50 years. He also campaigned for safer cars on the track and beyond and against the tabloid press.

But let's be clear - Michael Shevloff's film feels like a presentation of how Mosley would like to have been perceived.

One presumes that it is not how his many enemies would have seen him.

That doesn't mean that Mosley - It's Complicated is not a compelling chronology because it surely is. After all, Max was the son of British fascist Oswald Mosley and Diana Mitford who married at the home of Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.

That was the unique background in which Max grew up and he was even arrested in the early 1960s for defending his father at a rally which turned violent.

During this documentary, he explains that his father showed him little love or kindness and that being his son had both negatives and positives.

Mosley is presented as pragmatic about his family's past as ultimately he could not affect it. However, when it comes to the present, he is portrayed as a man who was up for a fight.

This applies to his brief career as a motor racing driver, his success at becoming a lawyer and then, more seriously, when he gained power in sport, improving vehicle safety and in his clashes with the media.

There is unfettered access to Mosley and his friends who are clear in their praise for him and disdain for his enemies.

And for fans of Formula One, there is a heck of a lot of talk about the sport's history.

I must admit that, by the film's conclusion, I believed that Mosley had been a force for good.

Then I wondered why were so many people keen to see him undone? Was there more to him than this documentary shows? Maybe so, but it is still worth watching.

Reasons to watch: Fascinating character

Reasons to avoid: Is a tribute rather than a biopic

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Did you know? Labour’s former deputy leader, Tom Watson, received half a million pounds in donations from Max Mosley in less than a year, according to official records.

The final word. Ferrari team principal Marco Piccinini: “Max, he has an excellent engine. His brain, it has the most powerful acceleration… but some problem with the brakes.”

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