Brad Pitt’s hollow race to redemption

If his roaring blockbuster of a comeback film, “F1: The Movie,” is to be believed, we are witnessing a Brad Pitt reborn, sewn back together after years of being pulled in different directions by the Hollywood machine, ready to do things his way again. A “Brademption,” if you will. Like his character, washed-up Formula One racer Sonny Hayes, Pitt is returning to the grandest version of this race by his own volition, with his own set of rules. He’s collected. He’s confident. And most of all: He’s cool.

Pitt hasn’t exactly been not working, of course, popping up in some streaming fare, a Tarantino movie and a “Bullet Train” to nowhere. But by his once inescapable standards, the actor has all but bowed out of the limelight, taking it easy behind the scenes by executive producing films and only jumping back in front of the camera when he feels like it. The reason for this semi-absence is a big mystery, one that no one has been able to figure out. If only we had reports detailing an alleged altercation that took place between Pitt and his ex-wife Angelina Jolie on a private jet in 2016, during which Pitt, according to Rolling Stone, yelled at Jolie, grabbed her by the head, shook her and pushed her into the bathroom wall. In the FBI report obtained by the magazine, Jolie alleged that Pitt poured alcohol on her before moving toward their children, at which point Jolie grabbed Pitt and Pitt threw himself backward, causing injuries to Jolie’s back and elbow. A later report obtained by Variety following a separate dispute alleges that Pitt “choked one of his children and struck another in the face.”

But, come on! That’s all in the past, right? Pitt has been touting his sobriety for the last few years, and the divorce between him and Jolie — filed shortly after that 2016 incident — was finally finalized last December. “I don’t think it was that major of a thing,” Pitt recently told GQ about the divorce being finished. “Just something coming to fruition, legally.” While that is, by legal definition, correct, Pitt’s chilled-out approach comes off as flippancy, especially given that, after a drawn-out, eight-year battle, Jolie’s lawyer said that she was “exhausted.” But for “F1: The Movie” to achieve its goal, which is ostensibly to return Pitt to untouchable superstardom with as little public rumbling about the past as possible, he and his character must remain as symbiotic as possible. The film may be a thinly veiled, overblown, overlong vanity project, but it’s designed to waterboard viewers with Pitt’s panache until they relent, hoping that we, too, become so exhausted by its end that we can’t help but give in.

If there was any remaining question of whether Pitt is ready to confidently step back into the spotlight to regain his title as the prince of Hollywood, we need look no further than his haircut. After years of sporting long hair or a tighter crop, Pitt showed up to the “F1” premiere rocking a smooth, ultra-cool buzzcut, a return to form from his early aughts cosmetological peak. Post-Bennifer, pre-Brangelina; the same hairstyle that saturated the pages of People and W alike. It’s a way to physically shed the past and move into the future, while also conveniently supplying a hit of nostalgia to all of those who have been wondering, “What’s Brad Pitt up to?”

The answer? He’s been creating a souped-up marketing machine in the form of a $300 million movie about one of the most popular, prestigious sports in the world. “F1: The Movie” is not just a movie, it’s a film constructed to look like entertainment, with all of the bells and whistles ringing so loudly you’ll forget that what you’re watching has very little in the way of actual story. The film has a beginning, (very long) middle and an end; it has characters who speak — sometimes, if they’re lucky, they’ll even emote; and best of all, it has the grand spectacle of race sequences so absorbing you’ll forget you’re watching a movie and not a live Formula One race. That is to say, it’s got just as much branding as you’d see during a live broadcast, too. If you find yourself walking out of the theater and suddenly wondering if you should purchase some Apple AirPods Max or a SharkNinja home appliance, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

“F1: The Movie” may not be part of an existing franchise, but it is one arm of a massive brand, making it the biggest summer blockbuster since 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick.” Pitt’s film was even endorsed by Mister Movies himself, Tom Cruise, at its premiere, with Cruise showing up for a hug and a photo-op alongside his colleague — “rubbing is racing” style — likely confident in knowing that “F1” could never hold a candle to the far superior “Days of Thunder,” when it comes to racing films.

Seeing two icons, holding a united front to protect the sanctity of the big-budget silver screen experience, might provide a jolt of wistful reminiscence if it didn’t come off so smug. Cruise may have his own fair share of controversies, but at least it’s a bit easier to separate the art from the artist when Cruise’s art is halfway decent, more noble in its intentions to unite the public while giving them a show, instead of just settling for the latter.

Perhaps if “F1: The Movie” weren’t so intent on creating innumerable parallels between its star and its story, Pitt might not come off so arrogant and unrepentant. But Sonny Hayes is about as close to Pitt as it gets, apart from name. When Sonny’s old racing pal Ruben (Javier Bardem) offers him a shot at fame and fortune by getting back into the game to join his racing team, APX GP, Sonny takes the chance because he’s chasing something else: The thrill of the job. And Sonny’s not like the team’s rookie, Joshua (Damson Idris), either; he doesn’t need any of the newfangled training tech or the high-intensity prep work to get back on the track. All Sonny needs are concentration, skill and a lucky playing card in his racing suit. He’s such a rare bird that he even runs the length of a racetrack at dawn before he ever sets four wheels onto it. Unlike the new kid who’s got spunk and talent, Sonny has the competence to back up his flair. That a seasoned, white vet is showing up to overshadow a striving, young Black driver is, unsurprisingly, never once mentioned within the context of the film.

Total self-assurance is exactly how Sonny, like Pitt, gets away with his pretension. He walks into the room ego-first, hubris disguised as charm. Even the reporters can’t resist him! An especially pointed scene happens shortly after Sonny joins APX GP, when he and Joshua sit down for a press conference. When Sonny’s past is brought up — gambling, addiction, car crashes, failed relationships, divorce — Sonny responds with a cool, collected “yup” to each one. He’s not focused on anything but the road ahead of him. Sonny just wants to get back into that driver’s seat and chase the feeling of flying. Like Pitt hopping back into blockbuster fare, it must feel good to take a little joyride in the fast lane whenever you want, not having to be burdened by what’s in the rearview mirror.

Start your day with essential news from Salon.Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.

The “F1” press tour hasn’t exactly dug deep into that history, either. Pitt has been making the usual rounds that all the biggest stars do for their biggest films, which is to say that he’s been reading thirst tweets alongside Bardem and playing frisbee with America’s staunchest advocate for no tough questions, Jimmy Fallon. The deepest Pitt has been willing to go has been on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, where the two friends, who know each other through Alcoholics Anonymous, chat about addiction. It’s an occasionally illuminating discussion, but Pitt and Shepard only get into the subject of alcoholism itself, not what specifically fueled it or what havoc it caused. Sure, those are private matters, but skimming the surface like this only serves to bolster an image of an actor reformed. Now, Pitt looks like a star who saved himself from falling out of the sky, stopping himself from plunging into the darkness and fixing himself up to shine for us all once more.

In all fairness, we don’t know what level of atonement Pitt has made over the years. Actors have complete inner lives that none of us are privy to, and they know very well that who they really are may be entirely different from how the public perceives them. But after reports of Jolie’s exhaustion, the length of the divorce proceedings, Pitt’s children distancing themselves from their father and changing their last names, and the horrific allegations from the incident on the private jet in 2016, is it so unfair to approach Pitt’s redemption tour with a bit of skepticism? Just because Pitt played producer on the 2022 “MeToo” era chronicle “She Said” and spoke about his divorce with nonchalance doesn’t mean that the rest of us aren’t allowed to be troubled by the dissonance at play here.

With cancel culture being something that many people take an odd stance on, I’d wager that the average person doesn’t realize the extent of Pitt’s alleged actions. And now, with the release of what could very well be this summer’s biggest movie, Pitt has managed to rehab his image before it was ever truly tarnished. That the movie he’s chosen to do it with is a piece of crash-bang-boom cinematic fluff is all the more telling. It’s not always easy to think critically when the cars are driving fast and the actors are flashing perfect smiles from a 50-foot screen. If anyone knows how easy it is to charm an audience, ready to get lost in a movie and fall in love with the actor onscreen, it’s Brad Pitt. But just because this old jalopy still runs doesn’t mean it’s worth taking for a spin.