Michael Mann and Adam Driver team up for the director’s latest Ferrari.
Meticulous is a word that should be used when discussing any Michael Mann-directed film. This applies to Ferrari as with any of his previous films. The film feels in many ways like a documentary, sliced out of a time in the Car maker’s life.
The filmmaker has found a fitting subject in Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) during the Summer of 1957. A tumultuous time for the Man both personally and professionally as he attempted to keep his Company afloat and uncompromised while attempting to leave his wife Laura (Penélope Cruz) for his mistress Lina (Shailene Woodley). Enzo finds solace in the control he has over his company, his competitive nature, and wanting to win at all costs – even possibly human lives. That competitive nature grabs him by the throat and its refusal to let go even under the duress of others telling him that his company will soon be bankrupt.
Like any other of Mann’s subjects, Ferrari is a man of complex often contradictory terms. Enzo grieves and bears the responsibility of the death of both his son and his brother but feels no empathy towards Laura or his mother and their respective losses. In Mann’s eyes and as played by Driver, Enzo Ferrari is an austere man of rigidity unable to do anything but what he sees. Driver aged up, with an accent, hidden behind sunglasses should be a recipe for disaster, but it’s not. The actor has found a kindred spirit in both Ferrari and Mann – both of whom allow him to exist in the angular and unlikable way that by all accounts Ferrari was. From that aspect, Ferrari is a welcome addition to the complex character work that’s defined Mann’s work and has dried up in studio filmmaking in the last decade.
However, this does not mean that Ferrari does not come with issues. Woodley is glaringly miscast here in a role that feels less organically cast and more to meet certain metrics. As Lina, there isn’t the sort of passion one would like to see or any sort of balance between the women in Ferrari’s life. We are just told and expected to understand that Lina is the woman that Ferrari wants to be with – and Woodley plays it with the sort of flatline “dutiful mistress” tone that doesn’t ring true. Adding to matters is an unfortunate accent that’s more mystifying than insulting as it comes and goes at will.
The Woodley miscasting would not have been so apparent if not pitted against Penélope Cruz as Laura Ferrari. Cruz as of recently has begun a streak of films that showcase her powerhouse talents as an actor. Here is no different. As the grieving mother who has not just lost her son but lost her husband – Cruz is electric. “Angry” is typically apropos of how these types of roles are written but Mann with screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin have given more to Cruz than simply that. To Cruz’s response – she devours the film so wholly that it tips the balances in her favor even from Driver. There is a power to the performance that elevates the film in her sections to some of the very best of Mann’s work. Look to the Opera scene and how it plays out – it’s a masterful study in reactions specifically Cruz’s Laura. One wonders what would have happened if Mann had decided to make the film about Laura Ferrari.
The technical credits and supporting players are all top-tier and deliver uniformly excellent work/performances. Special note to Patrick Dempsey as Piero Taruffi the “old man” of Team Ferrari – the actor brings quiet confidence and an entire subplot with just a few lines of dialog. Also work of ace cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt who with Mann and editor Pietro Scalia brings both the drama and the racing set pieces to life. There’s a rickety, danger they imbue all the racing with that culminates in one of the most harrowing moments in cinema in 2023.
Ferrari proves that we have gone too long without Michael Mann helming something for the big screen. A few quibbles aside the film is one of the best of 2023 and should be seen as it was designed; on the biggest possible screen with the loudest sound system backing it.
Michael Mann and Adam Driver team up for the director’s latest Ferrari.
Meticulous is a word that should be used when discussing any Michael Mann-directed film. This applies to Ferrari as with any of his previous films. The film feels in many ways like a documentary, sliced out of a time in the Car maker’s life.
The filmmaker has found a fitting subject in Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) during the Summer of 1957. A tumultuous time for the Man both personally and professionally as he attempted to keep his Company afloat and uncompromised while attempting to leave his wife Laura (Penélope Cruz) for his mistress Lina (Shailene Woodley). Enzo finds solace in the control he has over his company, his competitive nature, and wanting to win at all costs – even possibly human lives. That competitive nature grabs him by the throat and its refusal to let go even under the duress of others telling him that his company will soon be bankrupt.
Like any other of Mann’s subjects, Ferrari is a man of complex often contradictory terms. Enzo grieves and bears the responsibility of the death of both his son and his brother but feels no empathy towards Laura or his mother and their respective losses. In Mann’s eyes and as played by Driver, Enzo Ferrari is an austere man of rigidity unable to do anything but what he sees. Driver aged up, with an accent, hidden behind sunglasses should be a recipe for disaster, but it’s not. The actor has found a kindred spirit in both Ferrari and Mann – both of whom allow him to exist in the angular and unlikable way that by all accounts Ferrari was. From that aspect, Ferrari is a welcome addition to the complex character work that’s defined Mann’s work and has dried up in studio filmmaking in the last decade.
However, this does not mean that Ferrari does not come with issues. Woodley is glaringly miscast here in a role that feels less organically cast and more to meet certain metrics. As Lina, there isn’t the sort of passion one would like to see or any sort of balance between the women in Ferrari’s life. We are just told and expected to understand that Lina is the woman that Ferrari wants to be with – and Woodley plays it with the sort of flatline “dutiful mistress” tone that doesn’t ring true. Adding to matters is an unfortunate accent that’s more mystifying than insulting as it comes and goes at will.
The Woodley miscasting would not have been so apparent if not pitted against Penélope Cruz as Laura Ferrari. Cruz as of recently has begun a streak of films that showcase her powerhouse talents as an actor. Here is no different. As the grieving mother who has not just lost her son but lost her husband – Cruz is electric. “Angry” is typically apropos of how these types of roles are written but Mann with screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin have given more to Cruz than simply that. To Cruz’s response – she devours the film so wholly that it tips the balances in her favor even from Driver. There is a power to the performance that elevates the film in her sections to some of the very best of Mann’s work. Look to the Opera scene and how it plays out – it’s a masterful study in reactions specifically Cruz’s Laura. One wonders what would have happened if Mann had decided to make the film about Laura Ferrari.
The technical credits and supporting players are all top-tier and deliver uniformly excellent work/performances. Special note to Patrick Dempsey as Piero Taruffi the “old man” of Team Ferrari – the actor brings quiet confidence and an entire subplot with just a few lines of dialog. Also work of ace cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt who with Mann and editor Pietro Scalia brings both the drama and the racing set pieces to life. There’s a rickety, danger they imbue all the racing with that culminates in one of the most harrowing moments in cinema in 2023.
Ferrari proves that we have gone too long without Michael Mann helming something for the big screen. A few quibbles aside the film is one of the best of 2023 and should be seen as it was designed; on the biggest possible screen with the loudest sound system backing it.
Ferrari is in theaters December 25, 2023
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