Jay Baruchel stars as Ken Carter in “The Stunt Driver,” a new film revisiting the story of the stunt driver best known for a planned, but never completed, mile-long jump over the St. Lawrence River in a rocket-powered car. The film draws from the 1981 documentary “The Devil At Your Heels” but adds new layers of psychological exploration.
The film depicts Carter executing a stunt jump that results in injury, with Carter pleading with the crowd not to leave while being carried off on a stretcher. According to the film, Carter repeatedly justified his dangerous stunts with the phrase, “I gotta jump, people like me,” highlighting his need for adulation. The planned jump required a 90-foot ramp.
The filmmakers incorporated archival footage from the original documentary alongside staged recreations. Carter assembled a team including engineer Dick Keller (Ed Helms), sports agent Bill Wilkins (Dan Bakkedahl), and hype-man Danny Lafortune (Marc Beaupré). Carter’s wife, Gloria (Laurence Lebouef), is portrayed as primarily concerned and suffering throughout the events.
The film utilizes a rediscovered radio interview where Carter underwent hypnosis, providing insight into his vulnerabilities. However, the source notes that Carter’s fears remain largely one-dimensional. Baruchel’s portrayal of Carter sometimes evokes Richard Nixon, adding complexity to the character’s motivations. The film also presents Carter as a zealous Canadian patriot, deriding rival Evel Knievel as a “yankee doodle dandy” and proclaiming, “I eat Americans like you for breakfast!”
One alteration from the original documentary involves the American stunt driver who ultimately took Carter’s place on the jump, identified as Kenny Powers. The film expands on Carter’s life after the jump, adding approximately 20 minutes of footage. A final scene features a slow dissolve from Baruchel to footage of the real Ken Carter.
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