Michael Mann’s long-gestating project on the life of Enzo Ferrari has been in the works for over 20 years. The script, by the late great Troy Kennedy Martin (best known for writing The Italian Job, Kelly’s Heroes and Edge of Darkness), is itself based on Brock Yates’ biographical tome Enzo Ferrari: The Man, The Car, The Races, The Machine. Despite many false starts and some line-up changes, the film has now finally been made, with Adam Driver, playing considerably beyond his years, as the 59-year-old Commandatore.
Rather than serving as a biography of Ferrari’s life, Mann’s film focuses on a brief but essential chapter during the summer of 1957, when threatening aspects of his private life, his work, the Ferrari company’s future, and the punishing 1000 mile open-road endurance race, the Mille Miglia, all converge at the same time. Whilst Ferrari is lamenting the anniversary of his son’s death, he’s also worrying about financial woes and pondering the pros and cons of a merger with Ford or Fiat. To compound matters he also has to face the fury of his grieving wife, Laura (Penélope Cruz), the needs of his mistress, Lina Lardi (Shailene Woodley) and those of his illegitimate son, Piero (Giuseppe Festinese).
Contrasting the soap operatic dramas, the film devotes the same amount of time to the appearance of new driver Alfonso de Portago (Gabriel Leone), who falls under the wings of Ferrari teammates Peter Collins (Jack O’Connell) and Piero Taruffi (Patrick Dempsey), as they prepare for the Mille Miglia.
Much has recently been made in popular film discourse of the concept of ‘vibes’ movies. The term was coined by the video essayist and filmmaker Patrick Willems in reference to various works, including Mann’s previous films Collateral and Miami Vice, as well as Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. The argument being that a ‘vibes’ movie is one where the particular details of the plot are of less importance than the style, tone, and the general flow of the movie.
There’s definitely an argument to be made that Ferrari falls firmly into that category. The film is a visual and audio extravaganza, with Erik Messerschmidt‘s cinematography making the lush greenery and the old buildings seem to soar in the golden Italian sunlight. The roar of the car engines and the squeals of the tyres are captured with Mann’s typical workmanlike cinematic kineticism, and starkly beautiful yet stoic cinematography. But there’s a chaos to the editing, the storytelling, and the portrayals. An unwillingness to do more than paint a portrait of the people involved, one that leaves the audience breathless and unsatisfied even by scenes of relative mundanity.
Yet, it’s in the moments of stress, horror, and conflict where the film shines. The constantly teased threats of Laura’s explosive anger hover above the familial dramas, just as the quickly established constant danger of death is during the racing scenes. Each of those pay off spectacularly in their own ways, in ways gleefully teased with enough sleight of hand to throw off those who don’t know the historical or biographical events in advance.
It’s also a powerhouse of acting performances, with Driver’s stoic but hulking and imposing presence looming over every scene, contrasted by the more diminutive Cruz and her barely concealed rage. Woodley fares less well, with something of a thankless role which she cruises through on autopilot. There’s also very capable work from the smaller roles by O’Connell, Dempsey and Leone, chewing up the scenery in their limited appearances when not sweating and swearing behind the wheel of a car.
Much like Enzo, Ferrari is a creature of two worlds. A film that wants to be a social drama, and a race movie, and ends up not quite being either. Something that is definitely achievable, as evidenced by similar and more successful recent cinematic endeavours as Rush and Le Mans ‘66 (aka Ford v Ferrari). It’s an experience that feels it’s missing a vital spark, and gets bogged down in dogged realism and formalism. Still, it’s an entertaining and well put together film, that while never quite ending up in pole position, still crosses the finish line with pride.
In cinemas now