The Lionheart (2023): A Documentary on the Legacy of Dan Wheldon

The Lionheart (2023) is a documentary that will be more appealing to motorsports fan only as it tries to explores the legacy of Dan Wheldon, bout anyone who is not into Indy or Formula 1 would consider it a good watch but may be can turn them into a fan, a two time Indianapolis 500 champion who tragically died on the track, the documentary is dedicated to expand the impact of his death on the world of motorsports and the challenges faced by his two sons Sebastian and Oliver in following their father’s same steps and practices on the sport they learn to love since very little. The title “The Lionheart” is a reference to Dan Wheldon’s determination, courage, and passion for motorsports, this documentary also looks to highlight the safety concerns in racing and the importance of remembering the sacrifices made by drivers like Dan Wheldon.

The documentary not only describe Dan Wheldon’s carrer, determination, passion and dedication for the sport, it describe the rise of this young pilot from England and his key moments on the sport like wining Indianapolis 500 in 2011, all the numerous challenges to win that race including a last lap pass that is probably still remembered as one of the most exciting ones of his career also lets not forget his previous win at Indianapolis 500 in 2005, this was a very significant victory since he was the first British driver to win the race since 1966.

If we look into motorsports safety now days its probably a puzzle that we have not figure out at 100% yet considering that every three of five years happen certain that no one though it would be possible, very recent the fire on Formula E, Valencia 2023 or the Formula 1 Romain Grosjean accident in 2020 where his fire caught on fire after he crash. I would only think that there were similar safety concerns during the times of Dan Wheldon from track design, protective gear for the drivers, the cars structure and this for sure is a part that the documentary will be touching on, I have only seen Indianapolis 500 a few times since I mostly follow Formula 1 but I have to say the risk is the same, doesn't matter if you are going at 200 kmph or 300 kmph the result will be the same, very close to death if not, all drivers know this and they still put on their gear and get into their cars.

The director in charge for this documentary is the well known sports broadcaster and filmmaker Hannah Storm, Hannah has previous work with ESPN, NBC Sports and ABC Sports just to mention a few, she has also directed other documentaries including Unmatched, Rowdy and Swoopes so there is plenty of experience going into the recollection of critical data and putting it all together, so far this documentary has been shown on two Film Festivals, Tribeca Film Festival and Heartland International Film Festival with great feedback and results from what I have found online.

During the documentary features interviews with several people who knew Dan Wheldon, including his family, wife, friends and drivers who share the track with him several times, featured in the documentary include Dan Wheldon’s wife, Susie Wheldon, his sons, Sebastian and Oliver Wheldon, and his fellow drivers, including Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, and Scott Dixon.. From the trailer we can see that it also covers footage of several of the races he was part of, probably from his early beginnings and some of his interviews too.

As mention I'm not into Indy but do love all kind of motorsport so once I saw the trailer I had too look first for the accident one that you only think happen on Lightning McQueen movies where cars where literally flying over 100 meters involving almost half, 14 cars; during the crash with more than three on fire from what I was able to catch during the accident footage, dissecting this scene will be very interesting as I'm sure there will be commentary about the flaws on the cars. There is also the part of how his two sons are now into motorsports starting on Karting and moving forward probably to other divisions of racing trying to achieve what their father did during his career on racing. Documentaries in my opinion are one of the hardest type of film to nail, first you need a great story and then gather all the data to build up the documentary and trying not to make it sound boring, need all this people who are not shy or feel weird about been in front of the camera and keep the viewers interested.