At 61, Brad Pitt returns to the forefront with F1, an action film directed by Joseph Kosinski, who also directed Top Gun: Maverick. He plays Sonny Hayes, a former declining Formula 1 champion, called back to mentor a young recruit. This sports redemption scenario echoes the great tragic figures of American cinema. It especially offers a troubling reflection of Pitt‘s intimate and public trajectory.
Since his highly publicized divorce from Angelina Jolie in 2016, the actor has experienced a true desert crossing. Amid accusations of domestic violence, admitted dependencies, and latent depression, Brad Pitt gradually withdrew from the Hollywood tumult. In several interviews, he has modestly described the chaos he carried within him. He joined Alcoholics Anonymous, seeking, in his words, a "judgment-free space." This act of assumed vulnerability marks a turning point in his relationship with the world.
A star grappling with self-forgetfulness
In the podcast Armchair Expert, Pitt provides a rare testimony about his years of fog. He talks about loneliness, loss of bearings, and the need to "wake up from oneself." Behind the calibrated smile and glamorous appearances, there is a man cracked by trials. Far from narcissism, his words exude a poignant form of humility. In his eyes, the fall was a necessary passage.
His struggle remains unknown to the general public. Brad Pitt suffers from prosopagnosia, a neurological disorder that prevents recognizing faces. He speaks about it candidly. This deficit explains his reserved attitude, often misinterpreted as arrogance. This invisible handicap acts as a metaphor: how to be a global icon when you struggle to identify the features of those around you?
A demanding and courageous filmography
Behind the myth, there is a craftsman. Discovered in Thelma and Louise in 1991, Brad Pitt refuses to be confined to the role of a pretty boy. He follows with atypical choices: Kalifornia, Legends of the Fall, Seven. Then come major collaborations with David Fincher, including the controversial Fight Club, a cult film that explores toxic masculinity and self-disintegration. He plays Tyler Durden, a fantastical and nihilistic alter ego of a lost narrator. This character resonates with the man he would become: complex, divided, unpredictable.
He alternates blockbusters (Troy, World War Z) and auteur propositions (Babel, The Assassination of Jesse James). In 2011, he shines in The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick, a mystical meditation on lineage and the passage of time. This film confirms his desire to break free from Hollywood clichés. In 2020, he wins the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, by Tarantino, where he plays an aging stuntman. The ultimate recognition, in a twilight role.
A producer in search of meaning
Far from being just an actor, Pitt is also an influential producer. His company Plan B Entertainment is behind committed films like 12 Years a Slave, Moonlight, The Big Short, or Blonde. He supports bold filmmakers, often on the fringes of studios. This role in the shadows shows a desire to weigh differently on cinema. Indeed, he aims to promote stories that matter.
F1 fits into this logic. More than just a racing film, it portrays an aging body. This body is confronted with speed, risk, and fear. Pitt drives the single-seaters himself, after intense physical preparation. The filming, done on real Formula 1 circuits, authentically captures the thrill of motorsport. He describes the Eau Rouge turn at Spa as a "pure adrenaline rush."
The metamorphosis of a man
The role of Sonny Hayes, a broken driver seeking redemption, acts as a mirror. Brad Pitt explores his wounds, his past, his regrets. It is no coincidence that this film marks his return to the spotlight. He emerges from a period of withdrawal, marked by ongoing legal conflicts with Angelina Jolie. These conflicts notably concern the custody of their children and their shared vineyard.
In this fiction, he does not seek to shine. He seeks to feel, to share, to experience. It is perhaps his most honest, most bare performance. He embodies fatigue, doubt, but also a form of faith in effort.
A discreet appeasement
Today, Brad Pitt shares his life with Inès de Ramon, a Franco-Spanish jeweler. Their relationship remains discreet. He continues to produce, to invest in various fields: architecture, design, wine. He owns the Château Miraval estate in Provence, a high place of musical and wine creation.
But above all, he seems to have found an inner path. He no longer chases after glory. He chases after a form of truth. Like a driver in the darkness of a tight turn, he stays the course. Not to impress, but to stay alive.
Brad Pitt or the art of the counter-move
In a landscape where many stars run out of steam, Brad Pitt continues to surprise. He blurs the lines, alternates genres, avoids repetition. He has never stopped questioning his image. He remains a unique actor, who rhymes masculinity with fragility, success with doubts, memory with forgetfulness.
And if F1 is not his masterpiece, it is its symbol: a film of metamorphosis, energy, and silences. In the image of the one who interprets it.