McLaren (2017) – Documentary Film Review

Thrilling new documentary tells the legendary story of McLaren.

If all you know about McLaren is the name, and its super cars, then you really need to seek out this new documentary film and learn about the man behind the name. Born in New Zealand in 1937, and killed while testing Can-Am cars at Goodwood, aged just 32, what Bruce managed to accomplish in that time was enough for two or three impressive life stories. The film had a big enough budget to not only travel the world for interviews with the great drivers of the day, but access to the cars and tracks to recreate some dramatic scenes of which no footage exists.

So, who was Bruce McLaren?

Bruce was lucky enough to be born with a father who loved cars and motorcycles, and raced as a hobby. His family owned a service station where Bruce learned the ins and outs of how cars worked. From a young age, he learned how to make them faster.

While still a boy, he suffered from a debilitating bone disease, which left him with one leg permanently shorter than the other. This would eventually lead to complications for the young racer, having trouble with Le Mans style starts, and getting in and out of race cars.

However, he found the means to prevail, by age 14 he was racing a pre-war Austin Ulster, and competitive against 1950s sports cars. People began to take notice and by the late 1950s Jack Brabham arraigned a year old Cooper works car for him to drive in the annual New Zealand Grand Prix. He went from success to success and was off to Europe with a “scholarship” from the New Zealand government to race cars for Cooper. Driving a Formula Two car in the combined F1/F2 Grand Prix race at Nürburgring, he managed to finish in fifth place, overall, in front of many of the Formula One cars. Of course, he continued to be wildly successful as a driver, but that is only part one of his story.

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The real story of McLaren begins when Bruce began to build his own race cars.

Where McLaren really began to established his legacy was with his bespoke, home built race cars. He first took on sports cars/Can-Am in 1963, then Formula One in 1966, and eventually Indy Car in 1970. This is where the film really sets itself apart as well, because it had cooperation from many of the owners of these priceless, one of a kind race cars. The film features plenty of original footage of races with Can-Am, Indy, and Formula One from the 1960s when the cars had little in the way of sponsorship or wings. However, they were also able to fake some events where no footage existed, like Denny Hulme’s Indy Car fire (Methanol fire is invisible).

From his first international races, until his sudden death while testing new aerodynamic settings for Can-Am in 1970, McLaren was only really an active driver for 10 years. In those years he won four Formula One races, one 24 Hours of Le Mans, and two Can-Am Championships. During those same years, as a constructor, they won the majority of Can-Am races (every event in 1969), finished 7th in their first Indy 500, and were runner up to the constructors championship in Formula One in 1968 (though the two car team won the team championship). All of this for a team that began sketching chassis on the dirt floor of their workshop.

The tragedy of success: McLaren died testing one of his own creations, leaving a legacy.

Some of the top drivers, and just about everyone who worked at McLaren in the 1960s appears in the film. You get to hear from Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Dan Gurney, among others, as well as older interviews with the greats who are no longer with us. Perhaps the greatest inclusion in the film is Bruce’s wife Patty, who has since died. The McLaren racing team and shop could have died that day in 1970 with Bruce, but it was Patty who told the crew to keep right on building and racing after laying him to rest. She knew that is what he would have wanted.

The L.A premier at the Petersen Museum was a major event in its own right. The film was screened in a temporary space set up by pushing all the priceless Ferraris from the “Seeing Red” exhibit back against the walls of the Bruce Meyer Gallery. Downstairs in the lobby was an actual McLaren M8D, much like the one Bruce McLaren was testing when he died. Outside in the parking lot were several modern McLaren road cars, among the other modern exotica.

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At least one of these cars probably belonged to Justin Bell, winner of the 24 Hours of LeMans and GT2 World Championship. Or perhaps Keith Holland, McLaren Automotive Global Heritage Operations Manager, who were both there and stuck around to answer questions. Also in attendance was the film’s director Roger Donaldson, an Australian who started his career with a short on kiwi land speed racer Burt Munro. Donaldson later fictionalized the same story into the excellent Worlds Fastest Indian, and should be at the top of the list for any Hollywood motorsports feature projects.

So when and where can you see this movie? Even with Universal Pictures behind it, it does not appear to be getting a wide release. Regardless, it is a shoe in for best documentary consideration at Oscar time. You can see all the current scheduled screenings at the film’s website. I would expect it to be available from various streaming services some time before the end of the year. Until then, at least you can watch the trailer.