Ferrari (2023) Movie Review
Director Michael Mann tackles the man who made Ferrari a household name. Troy Kennedy Martin and Brock Yates’ screenplay drops us into 1957, where Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) is struggling in both his personal and professional life. He’s in the midst of an affair with Lina (Shailene Woodley) with whom he has a secret son. His relationship with his wife Laura (Penelope Cruz) is strained because of Enzo’s many infidelities coupled with the loss of their son Dino.
And as he’s navigating his complicated personal life, his business is struggling. Ferrari as a company is having financial woes and Enzo is determined to turn the company into a leader in the racing world. He pushes his engineers and drivers to the brink as they prepare for the Mille Miglia. It’s a 1,000 mile race across Italy that will test both the drivers and the cars they drive.
We float between Enzo’s personal and professional life throughout the two hour and ten minute movie. Driver is an appropriate anchor in the movie as Enzo, effectively conveying his drive to be successful. But Cruz puts in the more memorable performance, viciously ripping into anyone in her vicinity. Her fury is most often directed at her cheating husband but their mutual respect for each other is evident despite the tension.
The racing scenes are well done, which is expected coming from director Michael Mann who proved back in 1995’s Heat that he could direct a mean action sequence. And car enthusiasts will enjoy seeing old models of Ferrari’s from the ‘50s. But while some of Ferrari is intriguing, the movie never reaches the high intensity speeds it could have. Aside from a handful of dramatic racing scenes, the last half of the movie feels like it got stuck in one gear and forgot to advance to the next one. All the ingredients are there (decent acting performances, well executed action sequences, etc.), but they never fully come together to make the movie a truly compelling watch.
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You are a Ferrari enthusiast
2. You like the world of car racing
3. You like stories about business families
