“Ferrari” is another biopic that is pretty much by the numbers. That’s not entirely a bad thing, but I wish it had more under its hood. Director Michael Mann proves he’s still competent at the technical elements, and he puts together a well-rounded cast, but the movie only marginally succeeds.
The movie takes place in 1957, and Adam Driver stars as Enzo Ferrari, the Italian founder of Ferrari S.p.A. The man has had to deal with a series of setbacks, both personally and professionally. His son, Dino, passed away a year prior.
Penelope Cruz costars as his wife Laura, and after Dino’s death, their marriage begins to crumble, especially after the revelation that he had another son with his mistress Lina (Shailene Woodley). Cruz is totally effective as his wife. She’s a firecracker who takes nothing from Enzo.
His company is facing bankruptcy, and despite all the obstacles put in front of him, Enzo decides to enter his racing team into the Mille Miglia, which is a motor race in Italy, and he needs some top drivers. Patrick Dempsey plays Piero Taruffi, a Formula One champion.
Director Mann knows how to showcase his technical prowess. The racing scenes are skillfully done. They include one crucial scene that’s stunning both in its intensity and impact, which I won’t dare give away. It may be the most visceral scene in any Mann film since his brilliant L.A. shootout sequence in “Heat.”
“Ferrari” has some intriguing ingredients at its core, and yet I thought the movie wasn’t daring enough. Yes, we do get a fair amount of scenes between Ferrari’s personal demons and chasing professional glory, but the scenes are not executed in a way that becomes memorable. The film seems content with entrenching itself in routine, common scenes.
The film examines its subject on a superficial level. I wanted it to go further and try more revelatory scenes. That would’ve been a good idea to shake up its formula.
“Ferrari” is well-acted and well-directed, and it’s consistently well-made, but not quite enough to leave me satisfied.
Grade: B-
(Rated R for some violent content/graphic images, sexual content and language.)
