Michael Mann’s biopic of race car driver and legendary Italian automobile manufacturer Enzo Ferrari was released in the US theaters on Christmas day. Now it’s available to home viewers for premium rental and purchase on video platforms. The film boasts a great cast and strong performances, even if some critics have had a hard time with the slow pace of this family/business drama when maybe they expected something more like Days of Thunder, Italian Style.
Ferrari is set in the summer of 1957 against the backdrop of the Mille Miglia — a 1000-mile open road endurance race. Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) is preparing his team and his cars for the challenge as his business and his personal life spin into chaos behind the scenes: Ferrari’s racing team is burning down his bank account. If Ferrari can’t build more production cars to sell to consumers, his family and team will both be broke. His accountant encourages him to find a partner like Henry Ford, but Enzo fears losing control of his company. Ferrari and his wife Laura (Penelope Cruz) have lost a son, and their marriage is further strained by Enzo’s infidelity. In the meantime, Enzo’s mistress, Lina (Shailene Woodley) has spent the last decade secretly raising Enzo’s illegitimate son, Piero (Giuseppe Festinese). Little Piero’s confirmation is looming and Lina wants Enzo to give him his rightful Ferrari name. There’s also lots of gorgeous cars to look at and the golden sunlight of Modena reflected in countless glasses filled with red.
Driver is impressive in his transformation into a 60-year-old Italian legend thanks to a significant weight gain and a slicked-back hairdo full of white paint. Rather than tackle full-on Italian, he speaks English — all the actors do — in a broken staccato rhythm. Critics have accused Driver of an unemotional performance, but it’s made clear in the film that Enzo is mostly cut-off from his emotions after a lifetime spent in the cold fury of one of the world’s deadliest sports. He shines as a mentor to his enthusiastic team of drivers and he has great chemistry with old driving buddies, Piero Taruffi (Patrick Dempsey) and Cruz. Cruz starts the movie on one scowling note, playing a grieving mother and betrayed wife. But as the tragedies and triumphs of Enzo’s life and business unfold, she turns in a subtle and searing performance that avoids every cliché in the book.
Of course, between the romantic battles, paparazzi swarms and financial woes, there’s also car racing in this movie called Ferrari. Mann captures the Mille Miglia with big aerial shots that swallow gorgeous green swaths of the Italian countryside while also lensing vintage Formula One cars vying for position on twisting narrow roads. The driving is great here and all the close-up camera work in and out the car’s cockpits puts viewers right in the middle of the action for every shifting gear, squealing tire, and sideswipe as the teams compete over each turn and straight away. And even though Ferrari might have less racing than viewers might expect, it features some of the most shocking car crashes I’d ever want to see in a film. In an early scene the Ferrari team is trying to recapture a speed record on a test track. The driver miscalculates a turn and what follows is unlike anything I’ve seen in any other movie about car racing — and that’s just the first crash.
Ferrari is now widely available for rent and purchase on most digital platforms
Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.