Who do you first think of when you hear the name ‘Mosley’?
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For many motorsport fans and people outside Britain, the name evokes Max Mosley, the former FIA president whose final years were shadowed by controversy, including a sensational newspaper exposé about his private life. Yet Max spent much of his life under the shadow of an even more notorious Mosley: his father, Sir Oswald, who in the 1930s tried to promote British fascism along the lines of Mussolini and Hitler.
Determined to establish a career separate from his father’s politics, Max Mosley gravitated to motor racing. He rose to lead the international automobile federation, a role he held for 18 years. During his tenure he steered Formula 1 through turbulent times after the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger in 1994, and pushed for improved road car safety standards—an issue that remained central to his public life.
This is the focus of the new biopic Mosley: It’s Complicated, released in cinemas today and billed as “a no-holds-barred study of one of the most successful yet controversial figures in motorsport.” The film is produced and directed by Michael Shevloff, whose previous motorsport work includes the 2013 documentary 1: Life on the Limit. Having found that film uneven, expectations for a cleaner, drier subject like Mosley were modest.
Surprisingly, It’s Complicated succeeds more often than not. Rather than relying on a plodding narration, it makes strong use of archival material and original interviews, many with Mosley himself, to tell its story. Early on the film sets out a clear perspective: it downplays the extent of his parents’ links to Hitler while emphasising Mosley’s difficult upbringing and his commitment to improving car safety in countries such as India.
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The documentary finds its most engaging moments when Mosley partners with Bernie Ecclestone and begins to exert influence over the FIA and FISA. The film covers the factional battles of the 1980s, led at the time by the autocratic Jean-Marie Balestre—an episode that also raises questions about a notorious photograph showing Balestre in a Nazi uniform, which Mosley denies circulating. That detail becomes pertinent as the film moves into its final act.
Throughout his presidency Mosley courted critics, whether for his handling of Indygate, Spygate or other controversies. The film captures his perspective but at times feels defensive; some viewers may find scenes that downplay criticism frustrating. Mosley himself acknowledges being “inundated with one Formula 1 scandal after another,” yet the documentary invites viewers to ask how many of those controversies were inflamed by his actions.
The most dramatic chapter—one that thrust Mosley into international headlines—concerns the News of the World exposé, which accused him of taking part in a “Nazi orgy with hookers.” The film devotes its final third to Mosley’s legal victory over the newspaper and the broader fallout that later contributed to the tabloid’s closure amid phone-hacking revelations. Mosley delivers a final barb over the end credits, suggesting there are “three suspects” behind the leak who will “need some lawyers.” He did not live to see whether those claims produced consequences; he passed away in May.
At a lean 96 minutes the film still lags in its closing stages. While Mosley clearly suffered an injustice in that tabloid episode, he does not always emerge as a sympathetic protagonist, and scenes of him fighting a newspaper do not necessarily make for gripping drama. Still, for anyone who followed Formula 1 during Mosley’s era, the documentary offers substantial interest.
If you expect the emotional punch or cinematic polish of superior motorsport documentaries such as Senna, don’t. Mosley: It’s Complicated feels authorised by its subject and often echoes the tone of Mosley’s autobiography. It avoids some of the tougher questions—most notably the decision to sell Formula 1’s commercial rights to Bernie Ecclestone, arguably for less than they were worth—but it presents Mosley’s side of the story in an engaging and sometimes entertaining way.
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“Mosley: It’s Complicated”
Publisher: Flat-out Films / Diamond Docs Production
Published: July 2021
“Mosley: It’s Complicated” trailer
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