No luxury automobile is more synonymous with speed than Ferrari. While it is no longer the fastest car on the market, there is an old-school aura that surrounds this iconic Italian vehicle.
Director Michael Mann has been trying to make a film about the founder of Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari, for decades. His passion project took a long time to get going and went through numerous casting changes. Robert De Niro, Christian Bale, and Hugh Jackman were some of the names attached to the lead role. After years of stalling out, his vision has been brought to life by Adam Driver.
Ferrari is not the kind of auto-racing movie most expect. If you go into it hoping to see a joyride with exhilarating chases, breathtaking stuntwork, and a fast-talking quipster in the driver’s seat, you’re going to be disappointed. It’s not that kind of movie. The racing choreography is good, with solid special effects, and Driver does have some good one-liners.
But this resounding drama is more about what Enzo Ferrari lost than what he won. It’s a man and a woman (Penélope Cruz as Laura Ferrari) in a crumbling marriage who are closer to business partners than husband and wife. The two have been living separate lives since the death of their son.
The specter of death clings to Ferrari like a second skin. There are numerous deaths in this 2-hour, 11-minute feature. The narrative is focused on the 1957 Mille Miglia, a 1,000-mile race across Italy. A crash during the event resulted in nine spectators being killed – five of them children. Because of that tragedy, the Mille Miglia was never raced again.
Those scenes, and others, make Ferrari tough to watch, but they also make it a profound examination of how we deal with grief. On the surface, Driver’s Enzo is fighting to keep his struggling car company afloat and fighting to keep the identity of his mistress (Shailene Woodley as Lina) and their child a secret.
But what this thoughtful story boils down to is a tale of two people trying to heal from a loss. One spouse blames the other for an outcome that couldn’t have been prevented—no matter how wealthy they are. It’s in these scenes of resentment and rage that Driver and Cruz shine.
Driver is particularly adept at playing men in complex relationships, from his younger days as Adam in Girls and his Oscar-nominated role in Marriage Story.
But the true star of Ferrari is Cruz whose seething anger comes across the screen every time you see her. Her performance has generated Oscar buzz for Best Supporting Actress, and the hype is warranted. She isn’t just angry that her husband is having an affair. She’s angry because she’s still mourning the life they used to have together. It takes considerable skill to make her performance believable and sympathetic.
The acting and the drama of Ferrari set it apart from typical sports films. This isn’t a warm and comfortable story of overcoming the odds to become a champion. Instead, we’re left wondering about how we handle the crushing setbacks of life.
