In the 1970s, when the relationship between Canada and the United States was in a less fraught condition and when crossing the border was a less formal affair, the Canadian stunt driver Ken Carter wanted to traverse that boundary in one of the most lunatic ways imaginable: He planned to jump a rocket-powered car across the St. Lawrence River, a flight that would take him from Morrisburg, Ontario, to Ogden Island, N.Y.
“The Stunt Driver,” written and directed by Michael Dowse and starring Jay Baruchel as Carter, is a mild charmer that salutes the pluck of an entertainer who went by the moniker “the Mad Canadian.” The movie is based on another film, “The Devil at Your Heels,” which won a Genie, Canada’s equivalent of an Oscar, for best documentary in 1983.
Dowse’s mixing of formats and aspect ratios, and his use of the “Devil at Your Heels” director (played by Joe Cobden) as a significant character, makes it clear that much of “The Stunt Driver” is dramatizing moments captured in the documentary. Settling for a fictionalization doesn’t necessarily seem like the way to go for such a crazy story.
But a strength of Baruchel’s performance is that he never makes Carter a clown. The protagonist — who in this telling dislikes the term “daredevil” — is charismatic but justifiably terrified. Ed Helms and Laurence Leboeuf have fine turns as his engineer and his girlfriend, respectively, who emphasize his right to back out. Dowse also shoots a test drive and the geography of the ramp site in ways that give viewers a feel for the speed and physics of the effort. No one is going to leave “The Stunt Driver” wanting to try this.
The Stunt Driver Rated R because rocket-powered cars are dangerous. Running time: 1 hour 39 minutes. In theaters.
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