Review of 'Ferrari'

Ten years after forming Ferrari the famous, stylish Italian entrepreneur Enzo Ferrari's (Adam Driver) marriage is facing collapse as he spends more and more time with mistress Lina Lardi (Shailene Woodley) who, in turn, is pressuring him to recognize their illegitimate son Piero (Giuseppe Festinese) as his confirmation nears. His wife Laura (Penelope Cruz) grieves for the loss of their son a year earlier while suspecting her husband of infidelity. At work, Ferrari faces questions about safety after world-record holding driver Eugenio Castellotti (Marino Franchitti) dies at a test track. While media pressure mounts Ferrari is told that his team must win the thousand mile endurance race the “Mille Miglia” in order to remain solvent, ahead of the Maserati team owned by Adolfo Orsi (Domenico Fortunato) who face a similar crisis - Whichever team wins, survives.

There is a lot going on in this film as we focus on an interesting part of Ferrari's life in the early days of his company's existence. He is not exactly the most likeable person in this film but there are not many people to actually like here (perhaps the illegitimate son too young to even talk?). There is not a lot of love lost here to be sure with a vindictive wife, a cheating husband, a demanding mistress…Driver here plays the character with cool detachment and conviction that seems to perfectly suit the character while Cruz is chilling as the wronged wife looking to get her revenge in a loveless marriage.

Beyond the copious amounts of melodrama, it is the racing sequences in “Ferrari” which truly astounds (yes, I am a bit of a racing fan, in particular Formula One) as they vividly recreate what it must have been like to race cars in those days with the horrific accidents they caused. There is a particular sequence near the end of the film that is incredibly visceral which I can't get out of my head. I have no idea how they created these sequences which are utterly convincing. The lack of safety standards that we now take for granted in motor racing is all to obvious but what is also obvious is how cold-hearted men like Ferrari were to the resulting deaths preferring to concentrate instead on race results instead.

An interesting, if somewhat cold, look into the man behind “Ferrari” at a time when he was only just establishing his iconic brand.

Rating: “It is OK but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2024-06-30

Directed by: Michael Mann

Studio: Forward Pass

Year: 2023

Length: 130 minutes

Genre: Melodrama

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3758542/

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