A welcome return to form by director Michael Mann, Ferrari explores a turbulent period in the life of entrepreneur Enzo Ferrari through the Mann narrative calling cards of obsession in profession and environment as character.
A long-in-development biopic (reports have Mann linked to the film as far back as 1995), Ferrari proves that the veteran filmmaker has much left in the tank after his career stalled following the critical and financial disaster that was the 2015 action thriller Black Hat.
Where that film featured a casting misfire in Chris Hemsworth as a buff computer hacker, Mann successfully found the right leading man for Ferrari in Oscar-nominated actor Adam Driver, who despite being 40 years-old convincingly transforms into a 59-year-old Enzo Ferrari, the founder of the Ferrari racing team and sports car.
Set in the summer of 1957, Italy, Ferrari centres on Enzo during a crossroads in his personal and business lives, with his marriage to Laura (Penelope Cruz) in freefall after the tragic death of their son Alfredo, and the Ferrari racing car company close to bankruptcy. Enzo’s only solace is the secret life shared with his mistress Lina Lardi (Shailene Woodley) and their son Piero (Giuseppe Festinese) who is next in line to inherent the Ferrari legacy.
Ferrari continues Mann’s long thematic obsession with characters who have an addictive dedication to their professions, whether it be hardened cop (Heat) or sociopath hitman (Collateral). The life of Enzo Ferrari proves to be the perfect subject for Mann, with Enzo demanding the best from those who work for him and represent his name, yet whose personal life is a wreck of trauma and duplicity.
It is to the credit of screenwriter (the late) Troy Kennedy Martin (The Italian Job) and Driver that Enzo is portrayed as a man of many moral greys rather than what could have been a very black and white character; Enzo Ferarri is a bastard, but one whose passion for his work, and moments of love and tenderness, often breaks his self-absorbed, icy exterior. The scenes between Enzo and his son Piero are especially touching.
Complimenting Driver’s ice-cool is Penelope Cruz with a fiery-hot portrayal of Laura Ferrari, the scorned wife who holds the fate of the Ferrari empire in her hands. Cruz steals scenes with an intense and passionate performance, the years of grief and betrayal creating a piping-hot cauldron of resentment that is ready to erupt at any moment.
Filmed in Italy, Mann treats the environment in Ferrari with the same slavish reverence in his LA crime epics Heat and Collateral, resulting in a period piece authentic and absorbing, made even more so by the excellent production design by Maria Djurkovic (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and costumes by Massimo Cantini Parrini (Cyrano). Also impressive are the car racing scenes, slickly shot sequences of speed and fury thanks to crisp cinematography by Erik Messerschmidt (The Killer) and an excellent sound effects team.
Ferrari, though, is all about the complicated and often compromised soul behind the machine, a stirring character study of obsession and duplicity done Michael Mann-style.
