Review - Senna: Everybody Wants to Rule the World

 

Photo Courtesy of Netflix

Due to the success of the Netflix show Drive to Survive, Formula 1 has become something of a household topic in recent years. But growing up in my household... it was always there. For as long as I can remember, motorsports have been a big part of my family. Instead of watching football together on Sundays, we would watch races. School projects involved studying aerodynamics as they relate to Formula 1 cars and making huge posters so that I could break down components like how front and rear spoilers and downforce contribute to the car's overall handling. As a family, we would discuss the logistics of getting a go-kart and hitting professional tracks, going on tours, and someday making it to IndyCar or, fates-willing, the illustrious Formula 1. 

    I was 7 years old when Ayrton Senna died, and to hear my mother reminisce on the topic one would think that a member of the family had passed. A distant one, to be sure, but someone that the entire family loved and would miss dearly. My dad had a Senna shirt since before it was popular. Okay, that's probably not true. It was certainly popular then too, obviously. I had a couple pins we had gotten at the Long Beach race. One was of Schumacher in his Benetton, but the other was a Senninha pin that represented Aytron's outreach to children during his career. My favorite driver was Michael Schumacher because... well he was a winner and I was 7. If you think that's lame, just look at how many Chicago Bulls fans suddenly spread like a plague across the nation in the 90s. Or look at how many fans Max Verstappen has today. I also loved Schumie because we shared a first name and that meant that automatically he was cool, right? Schumacher also continued racing, and continued winning, for years after the death of Ayrton Senna.

    Senna's death didn't have much gravity for a 7 year old. This is what they all risk going into the sport anyway, right? But as the years went on, despite the amount of wins that Schumacher piled on, and then his successor in Lewis Hamilton, the name Senna is always brought up in a compare and contrast. The question remains. Who is the greatest of all time in the Formula 1 world? Now Netflix's miniseries does not seek to answer that question, but they do give us insight into someone who would almost be akin to a savant in the racing world.

The Good

Senna is a solid miniseries that explores Ayrton's life from the time when he was a small child right up until his death. The first episode explores how he functioned as a child and his overall obsession with vehicles in general. His father builds him a go-kart and its off to the races - pun intended. I'm not sure that Milton had Ayrton's future obsession in mind when he took him down that path, but his son ending up making a huge impact before and after death in the racing world and beyond.

    The second episode continues with Ayrton's return to the junior circuits in the hopes of moving up to Formula 1. His marriage is dissolved, and although he's a bit depressed about it... this is his calling. He moves quickly into the Formula 1 scene and from then on in the series we see his upward trajectory. It is fraught with issues because of his nationality and assertive personality, but ultimately Ayrton makes a splash wherever he goes. He's a natural leader and continues to build the credentials to prove it. It should be noted that this is especially true at McLaren. Okay, maybe that doesn't need to be noted specifically, but I would just like to point out that my boys are back on top.

    The acting in Senna is superb. Gabriel Leone does a fantastic job in his portrayal of the late driver in much more than simple appearance. He walks and talks like Ayrton, and it's easy to get lost in the episodes and not think about how you're watching a fictional portrayal of a real man's life. Netflix sticks to the facts, usually, and they nail it. The portrayals of Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, and James Hunt were all true to form for who they were at the time. Well... Prost's portrayal might give the old man a bit of a raised eyebrow, but what can you do?

    Pacing is also well done in the series. The fact that it's only 6 episodes works in the show's favor. It never overstays its welcome. There are times I wish that it had spent a bit more time on certain years... but I understand that they had to propel things forward. 

    There is also a good amount of anxiety laced throughout the show. While you know that he is not going to die until the final episode, Senna's fight for wins and championships becomes your fight too. All from the safety of your couch! No, but seriously. The way that races are shot, and the focus on shifting gears and revving engines... the adrenaline builds.

The Bad

While most of the show is great, that doesn't mean it's without its faults. 

    I think one of the main things to remember is the perspective that the show is giving us. It's Ayrton's story, and thus he is never going to be in the wrong. At least, not completely. He fulfills his obligation to his father and wife in the beginning, so seemingly keeps his promise about returning home to Brazil, but finagles a way to get what he wants by ultimately leaving. The show does not really give us the perspective of how emotionally crushing this is for his wife and father... but like I said, it's not their story. There's a bit of bias in the interpretation, and that's really just a single example. 

    The bias will be found throughout all of Ayrton's story, especially for those who remember that he was a bit of a womanizer. It should be noted that none of these women came forth with allegations of any kind, he was very popular with all of them, but they kind of skirt over that in the show to show that sure he has a good time sometimes but there's always a steady girlfriend. That was certainly not the case. Xuxa probably would not have been too thrilled to hear about the other women on the side. This could also be a key reason behind some of the time jumps.

    While I admitted early that the time jumping is necessary in some parts to propel the story forward, it can be a little jarring when you're suddenly hit with a three-year jump right in the middle of Ayrton's F1 career. Maybe a bit more exposition could have fleshed out some of those moments for the audience, but I'm sure they had their reasons for delivering it the way they did.

    In the earlier episodes, there are times when the focus on the driving can take you out of the show a bit. The only reason for this is because of the heavy use of CGI. A lot of it isn't done too well, and the vehicles in these moments can look a bit fake. In contrast, when they focus on archival footage of Senna actually driving everything works perfectly, but it could be that Netflix was limited with the minutes of actual footage they were able to display in the show.

    My last big complaint with the series has to do with Laura Harrison. Laura is a fictional character for the series. She is meant to act as an amalgam of journalists throughout Senna's career, which is probably why she speaks both Portuguese and English fluently, but I did not like her. Her character displays the tumultuous relationship that reporters had with Ayrton, a do they like him or do they not kind of thing, but when its piled onto just one person it makes her come off like a treacherous witch. Is there a typo at the end of that sentence, or not? You decide. Either way, I did not like her and I also thought it was annoying when she would pop into certain scenes. The dynamic wasn't fleshed out properly, for me, and I thought she also came off as obsessive. I kept turning to my wife and saying, "Does this woman want to sleep with him or... what's the angle here?"

The Glory

In spite of its flaws, Senna was great. Glorious, as I like to say. While it has moments that could have been better, the entire thing is done with love and respect.

    Incredibly human moments are abound in the series. Not everything is behind the wheel of a car. We get to see the man sing karaoke... only slightly better than I could. I would also like to point out that his choice of Tears for Fears's "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" could not have been more apropos. Great scene. Excellent overtones.

    At the end of the entire thing they show real clips of Ayrton and those closest to him. He shows his inspirational side to those who are willing to listen, and there's a profound sadness in the loss for all of us. As his mother tells him in the series, he is more than a racing driver. I think it's easy for all of us to get caught up in that line of thinking. We see celebrities of every avenue and only know them as that specific thing they do, but there are layers to all of us. That must be true for them, too.

    Senna goes into the category of must-watches for those who are just now getting into the sport. After all, there's a reason that F1 is so popular now. This show would not have been made 10 years ago simply because the market was not as prevalent in America. For once, we're a little late to the game. But... better late than never. Unless you're racing, that is.

8/10 - Glorious

Olé, Olé, Olé Ola

Senna

Senna