The problem for people of my generation is that for a large proportion of us, Ayrton Senna da Silva is just a name. We've heard about his wonderful driving, legendary rivalries, and infamous demise, but short of seeking out the evidence on YouTube and Wikipedia, he remains very much a figure in the past. What Senna does is bring his career and legacy right into the present. The simplicity of it is quite beautiful. A chronological run through his Formula One career, with concentration on the more pivotal events within it, interspersed with the voices of those who knew him best; family, team-mates, reporters. None of them are show being interviewed, they simply chime in at the appropriate moment, allowing Ayrton Senna, quite rightly, the lion's share of the audiences' attention.
Of course, this concentration on Senna as a fellow human being, with a family life and concerns for his countrymen, rather than a yellow-helmeted entity who existed purely in the cockpit of a racing car, accentuates the tragic poignancy of the story. In that, it grants the same viewing experience as a production of Hamlet, or Titanic (bear with the poetic license.) Senna is a film you desperately try to enjoy in its early stages, because anyone familiar with the name will be horribly aware of how the latter part culminates.
This 'climactic' point is dealt with gracefully, by virtue yet again of employing a simple, frill-free chronology of events on the fateful San Marino Grand Prix weekend of April-May 1994. Because the audience has already seen Senna's expertise in safety measures, and how he was proved right in occasions where authorities failed to heed his warnings, the increasing displays of his dissatisfaction with the 1994 Williams Renault FW16 on that fateful weekend, as well as his devastation at the Barrichello and Ratzenburger accidents, make for viewing that's harrowing and compelling in equal measure.
At 'my' screening, as the 'San Marino GP: Imola 1994' subtitle rolled onto the screen, there was a definite mood change in the cinema. There was a palpable sense of people bracing themselves for what they were about to witness. At the point that Roland Ratzenburger is seen joking with his engineers about how ludicrously hard he's pushing the car, the lady next to me began to sob quietly, while there was a collective flinch a few moments later when the footage of his fatal qualifying accident was shown.
One deft touch was to conduct Senna's final lap in a Formula One car, to the moment of the Tamburello impact, purely from on board the car. Having the audience ride along with Senna, and helplessly watch as the accident unfolds, is far more sensitive than endless replays of the crash itself. I've seen the deadly Senna crash several times on various documentaries and racing biographies, and it is one of the most brutal, sickening impacts one could ever witness.
The film continues to impress in the aftermath of the horror, by simply showing what all worldwide television viewers saw as it unfolded live. No "hindsight is a wonderful thing/if only he'd..." commentary, just reverential music and some respite for the audience to absorb and come to terms with what they've just witnessed. It's the gentle, honest, mature treatment of a terrible event which really makes Senna a great film, in my opinion.
Other things I liked? The slightly pantomime villainy of Alain Prost and Jean-Marie Ballestre against the heroic crusade of Senna is well handled and very entertaining, yet the audience doesn't end up hating or blaming either of the men, simply appreciating how their impertinence brought out the best in Senna. Showing Prost solemnly bearing Senna's coffin at his state funeral is an artefact which could have been easily omitted in an effort to smear the Frenchman, but it's refreshingly present.
The montage at Senna's funeral of team-mates, rivals, and family paying their respects to his coffin, interspersed with footage of Ayrton joking and laughing with each of them in happier times was yet another simple yet elegant idea.
The film also creates a wider effect on its audience. The men present at the showing I saw watched the film with a resolute stoicism, as if they understood exactly why Senna had to go out and prove he was the world's greatest driver, and the harm that befell him, and his peers, was an occupational hazard. Female members of the audience, in contrast, seemed to express a maternal instinct, as if wishing they could protect the dashing yet falable young men risking their lives for the glory of victory. If this sounds melodramatic, so be it, but watch Senna with an open minded audience before you judge.
Things that could have been improved upon? Few and far between in my humble opinion, really. At times the racing fans among us could do with more footage of Senna's amazing behind-the-wheel skill, but then that's readily available online; a world champion's family home videos are not. And although shown in the credits, a short segment on the heroism of Senna to stop his car and risk his own life to save Érik Comas at the 1992 Belgian GP would have been a canny move to marry the racing driver/charitable hero sides on Senna's character than run deep through the rest of the film.
Overall, Senna is a wonderful achievement; essential viewing for race fans and newcomers alike. It's also fantastic to know this excellent film has been definitively executed and acclaimed, so all future generations can, over the course of 104 gripping minutes, delve into the Ayrton Senna story.
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