The late Max Mosley was a divisive figure in many areas of his life, and the title of new documentary ‘Mosley: It’s Complicated’ is quite apt. From his upbringing, through his career in F1, his road safety work afterwards, and his ongoing battles with the press, things have never been simple.
Michael Shevloff’s film tries to examine Mosley’s life and put the man in context, ultimately to explore what his legacy may be. For Mosley himself, it is clear that his focus during the filming was his work with NCAP and pushing forward advances in road safety. It would be understandable if that was probably what he’d most like to be remembered for, but whether that will be the case or not isn’t so clear cut.
There is a lot of ground to cover within the film, as Mosley didn’t have a conventional life in any regard. Thankfully none of the less savoury elements are covered up and it all gets taken into account when considering what made the man. It would be a folly for instance, to try to ignore the fact that Hitler was at his parent’s wedding, or that he was later involved in violence at his father’s fascist rallies. Even though he later distanced himself from his father’s politics, and the effect it had as a child, it has to be noted.
This upbringing definitely prevented Mosley from venturing into politics himself, and it was the world of F1 that gave him his first taste of life where his surname didn’t come with baggage. The F1 years are given quite a lot of time, but there is so much from those 40 years that is worth looking at, that several aspects feel like they were given short shrift. This is completely understandable, as it isn’t really an F1 film. It’s akin to Mosley’s own comment after winning a Sports Book Award for his autobiography, when he said “it’s not really a sports book”.
What does get covered from that part of his career is fascinating though, and we get an insight into the FISA/FOCA war, the fallout from Spygate, and later challenges to his FIA residency. There are definitely moments here where some surprising and amusing statements are heard from both Mosley himself, and from others such as Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore. For F1 fans, these are highly interesting and you wish that there was more time to delve into the details. Instead, the film uses them to illustrate a larger picture of a man who was never afraid to take up a challenge.
One of the largest challenges in the latter part of his FIA Presidency and beyond was his battles with the press, especially the News of the World, following the publication of a story about his participation in an orgy. With contributions from Hugh Grant, Mosley’s involvement in taking on the press out of principle is examined and continues to outline his combative spirit.
The major framing device of the film though, which it keeps returning to, was the work he was doing with NCAP in the latter part of his life. During the filming of this documentary he was pushing for the first 5 star safety rated car in India. That passion for road safety, with the aim saving as many lives as possible is a constant refrain, and is probably the least well known aspect of his life. This wasn’t a new idea for him either, and the film makes clear that he had constantly been making inroads towards these goals for many years behind the scenes.
His work with NCAP could be a whole film in itself, and that fact is both a strength and weakness for ‘Mosley: It’s Complicated’. In some regards the wealth of interesting and difficult elements in his life re-iterates that he was a complex man to understand, underlining the purpose of the film. On the other hand, it means that none of the subjects get the full attention of the narrative and it leaves it straddling many subjects. It’s almost impossible to resolve that dilemma though, and Shevloff has done a remarkable job to keep it coherent and still give enough context to each element.
If you’re a sports fan or not, there is something here for every viewer, and even if we don’t get as much detail as we’d like, ‘Mosley: It’s Complicated’ is still an intriguing window into the life of a complex man. There are no simple explanations put forward either, and it raises some questions as well as giving some answers. It’s an interesting film, and definitely opens up the conversation about his legacy.
Mosley: It’s Complicated is be in Cinemas in the UK from 9 July and on Digital Download from 19 July
