Movie Review : Ferrari (2023)
Michael Mann is a Hollywood legend. He earned a reputation for directing hard nose, stylish and accessible thrillers like Thief, Heat, Collateral, and even Miami Vice that both idiots and film scholars can enjoy to a certain degree. I have no idea why he ever wanted to direct an Enzo Ferrari biopic at 81 years old, but he did. When you’re old and ultra successful, you do whatever the hell you want. Ferrari is, like every other attempt Michael Mann made at non-thrillers, neither good nor bad. It just is.
But it feels unsatisfying, like going to an expensive restaurant and getting small, overpriced portions that aren't fucking amazing.
Ferrari is… well, the story of Enzo Ferrari (played by a discombobulated and minimalistic Adam Driver) at age 59 precisely. Twelve years after the end of World War II, he's struggling to sell cars and keep his racing team afloat because of stiff competition from Maserati. His mariage reeling from the loss of his son Dino to muscular dystrophy a year prior, Ferrari is spending more and more time with his mistress Lina Lardi (Shailene Woodley), putting even more pressure on his marriage and business.
Excellence and Trauma
This is the least Italian movie about an Italian icon that I've ever seen. I mean look at Enzo Ferrari. Just look at the fucking guy.
That guy screams cigars, gabagool and sangiovese. He was a larger than life, iconic personally who kicked ass and took names. This is not at all who Adam Driver is portraying, but I believe it's by design. Driver plays a powerful, but grieving man clutching to the last remnants of his identity in a Michael Mann movie. The character being Enzo Ferrari is an excuse to tackle these themes within a realistic framework and if you watch the film with that in mind, chances are you're gonna appreciate it better.
Because Ferrari is a film about legacy. It's about a man having his heir taken away from him by disease and throwing his heart and soul into building machines that would represent his dedication to excellent long after he's dead. The old man has another son, but in mid-century Italy, having an offspring with your side chick is not exactly considered legit. That’s why Enzo Ferrari insisted that his cars should dominate the racing world. He wanted to outrun both faith and his bad choices. Being a bereaved Italian and all.
One aspect I liked in Michael Mann's portrayal is the stark nature of Ferrari's resolve. He could literally watch a man die on the track and go on with his pursuits. The bottom line had a life of its own and it had its way with him. It was like a siren calling Ulysses. His own marriage became a means to an end, which his wife (superbly played by Penelope Cruz) understood too well for her own good. Not everyone can understand rich and iconic Italians, but everyone knows what it feels to put your best self into something.
The Mann Twist
I'll keep it straight with you: Ferrari would've been a mediocre, flaccid dick of a movie if it weren't for the Michael Mann signature twist where the most brutal thing happens at the most unfortunate time. I don't want to spoil it even if it’s widely available online, but it relates to Ferrari's drive to transcend his own mortality through cars and how it infectious it was for his surroundings. I'm just going to say this: it is by far the goriest scene I've seen all years. It is not for the faint of heart.
I've never quite seen the dangers of the pursuit of excellence illustrated quite like this in a movie. I mean, car racing is an inherently dangerous sport to begin with and what happens in this scene happened in real life, but there was so many other ways to film this scene except in the most literal way. But I believe Ferrari doesn't work as well without it. It paints Enzo Ferrari as a tragic figure. A Napoleonic conqueror fighting his Waterloo. I'm not gonna spoil it, but it's worth waiting almost two hours.
*
Is Ferrari good? Kind of, as long as you're not expecting larger than life Italians and settle for the understated Michael Mann characters. It uses the story of Enzo Ferrari as a way to explore themes of legacy in adversity. You have to be patient with it as it delivers if you're willing to stick with the bland parts. They all serve a purpose at the end. It’s not going to go down as one of Michael Mann's iconic films, though. It's good reflexive and adult-for-the-sake-of-being-adult. Fun must've been forbidden on set.
