‘Ferrari’ Review
Stars: Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Giuseppe Festinese, Derek Hill, Leonardo Caimi, Gabriel Leone, Michele Savoia | Written by Troy Kennedy Martin, Brock Yates | Directed by Michael Mann
It has been 8 years since Michael Mann last had a film in cinemas, the hugely underrated Blackhat. Now he is back, and we can only hope he doesn’t have another 8-year gap between movies. Now he is telling the story of Enzo Ferrari, the founder of the iconic car brand. The film takes aim and focuses on the summer of 1957 when Ferrari’s passion in his personal life, and passion for his work, head towards crisis.
Adam Driver is Enzo Ferrari, and as he has many times before, he becomes the man himself. Only a few moments into the film, the image of Driver fades away and we are only left with the presence of Enzo Ferrari. A deeply complicated man throughout, one who is living multiple lives, with a wife, and partner to his business played like a powerhouse by Penélope Cruz, and having an affair with his mistress, played by Shailene Woodley. While his personal life becomes entangled, the world of his business rests on the result of the Mille Miglia, a relentless 1,000-mile race across Italy. The film, like the race and the man, is elegant and relentless, both his life and business feel like something tragic is waiting to happen around every corner; at every moment you can feel tension building. The tension builds brilliantly for the race sequences throughout the film where Mann truly shows off his craft. At every moment you truly feel the sense of life and death danger of motorsport, and get the horrible feeling any moment something could go wrong.
Through Driver’s incredible performance, the main focus throughout is always clear and precise and through his relationships, the tension is always seemingly building to something. The moments he goes toe to toe with Penélope Cruz, the drama explodes into life and at times you may even think Driver is finding it too hard to keep up with Cruz, who delivers one of the year’s best-supporting performances. Unfortunately, not all the performances in the film are as strong. Shailene Woodley struggles to keep up where at times her elegance and soft touch work brilliantly and she feels like perfect casting, but at other times – when more is asked – it does feel like she is being left behind, and there are clear signs she struggled to grasp the challenges of the accent. At no point, however, does this damage the film or take you too far out, the drama and conflict between the characters and events is enough to keep you involved.
The world of racing has always been one I know little about, and cared even less for. Through the film, Mann does a brilliant job of making the world interesting and exciting and shows how this world can be so thrilling that people will devote their lives to it. The drama and conflict between the characters in Enzo Ferrari’s personal life always seemed to focus the film and add the necessary drama and interest that many racing films have lacked for me. It manages to balance the worlds and keep them constantly exciting and engaging, slowly building the tension until the final brilliant race takes place.
Through all of this, what we come to expect most from Mann is just how good and cool he makes everything look. If I were to ever win the lottery a Ferrari has always been the way I would go, mainly for the name, but now for how cool Mann makes everyone look in one. It’s been argued and debated for a long time, as to what is Mann’s best-looking film: is it Heat? Thief? Miami Vice? Or something else? Well, now Ferrari can be added to the list as one of his best-looking films, but it also becomes one of the best-looking of the year.
Ferrari is an effortlessly cool and beautiful-looking film while being a brilliant tension-filled drama that builds to a chaotic and nerve-racking final, where the sight of smoke and the roar of engines become your entire world.
***** 5/5
Ferrari is in UK cinemas now.
