Ferrari

"Ferrari" is a Biography - Drama movie in which we watch the story of Enzo Ferrari and more specifically the crisis of 1957 while he decides his team to join the famous Mille Miglia, a 1,000 miles race across Italy.

I have to admit that I was not disappointed by this movie but I expected something different than what I watched. I was expecting more information about Enzo Ferrari's story before becoming famous and not so much personal information. The interpretation of Adam Driver who played as Enzo Ferrari was remarkable and I am sure that if the plot was different then he would be even better. Another interpretation that has to be mentioned was Penélope Cruz's who played as Laura Ferrari and she was equally good. In conclusion, I have to say that "Ferrari" is a nice movie, a bit misleading but worth watching.

I'm a big fan of racing and if you're a fan of racing you're invariably a fan of Ferrari. So when Michael Mann helms the Enzo Ferrari biopic, there will be expectations.

Unfortunately this presentation is uninspired. I really don't agree with the casting choice of Adam Driver for Enzo Ferrari. The only thing the two men have in common is seemingly height. Driver exudes an energy that is not the neurotic Italian man that is the brains behind Ferrari. The essence of Ferrari and Italia doesn't come across in a meaningful way. Driver possesses the menace that is Ferrari, but not much else.

A fan of classic automobiles will surely enjoy the various display of now unattainable rides in the movie though.

In the surface, Ferrari appears to be a well-directed, well-acted and adrenaline fuelled with excellent racing sequences. And yet, throughout the film, I couldn't help but feel disinterested and dissatisfied. This film has all the elements to be a slam dunk and yet I never felt attached to Enzo Ferrari and his struggles.

The performances are decent overall. Unfortunately, I was most disappointed by Adam Driver as the titular character. He never showcases the great range that I know he is capable with. His Enzo Ferrari is very reserved and somewhat bland. It's not helped that he is speaking English while attempting an Italian accent. If Chernobyl (2019) can get away with all English dialogue, then I feel you can do that here. It would certainly allow Driver to reach greater levels of acting. The saviour of this film is certainly Penélope Cruz. She delivers an excellent performance as Laura and I wish she got more screen time.

But if you're here for the racing, the film does delivers. It's few and far between, but the third act is a long, intense race with great sound design and editing. It's a shame that you're not invested in any of the racers since the film doesn't characterise any of them. It means the climax of the film doesn't hit as hard as it probably should. It's certainly shocking and brutal but it's hard to stay immersed when the violence is so over the top and the CGI is not quite great.

Overall, Ferrari feels like a film that could've been better. The characters could've been better, the story could've covered a more interesting part of Enzo Ferrari's life and the acting could've been more. I left this film not feeling like I did not know Enzo Ferrari. It's a film that perhaps is not for me, but I can see how others enjoy it.

Ferrari ends up being such a slog of a movie in place of what should've been a thrilling an interesting portrait of a complex figure. The performances might be solid and there's an effective moment here or there but the word that comes to mind when describing the film as a whole is flat. This filmmaker and cast telling a story with this interesting a subject matter should've amounted to a lot more than it ultimately did. For as exhilarating as motor racing is supposed to be I have to say I found the film to be overwhelmingly dull when all was said and done.

The whole aesthetic is totally without life which is the last thing I would've expected for a director of Michael Mann's calibre. Mann takes a very documentarian approach to the directing and it just robs the film of any energy or sense of direction. From almost the opening minutes there a serious lack of momentum. The scenes play out in very beat for beat type way with no sense of flair and as impressive as the racing sequences are they're too few and far between to save this movie from the drag that it ends up being. All the scenes away from the track are framed in the most shot/reverse shot manner imaginable so almost none of the dramatic moments had any sort of impact on me. There's an extremely effective moment in the 3rd act that felt like Mann was finally adding some stakes to the whole thing by then it was too little too late for me.

The script here is painfully unremarkable and it rears its head in how it portrays its main character. Adam Driver is solid in the role as Enzo Ferrari, though I wouldn't rate it as one of his best performances, but I never really found the depiction of the character to be that compelling. It's established early on that Ferrari puts up a wall around everyone but as an audience member it put me at a distance from his character. I didn't think there were enough moments where his guard went down and we see what really drives him so as a result I just found him to be a bit of a rich egomaniac with motivations I didn't find to be that interesting. There's a love triangle that's set up with Penelope Cruz and Shailene Woodley's characters that almost felt like it should've been the scripts main focus but after a while it just fades into the background for the central race to take up more screen time. Driver and Cruz have good chemistry but I never really thought that Mann got to the heart of their relationship and the exposition that's given on this three way dynamic feels like it comes in the complete wrong order. I was just waiting for characters to find out information I already knew and it just kills the pacing and any impact that these reveals could've had.

I never would've guessed that Ferrari was a long time passion project for Michael Mann because nothing in the final product gives any sense of a vision for this story. It's totally unimpressive on a script and technical level and the few effective moments and impressive race sequences aren't enough to save the total bore that Ferrari ended up being as a whole.

A slow, meandering & yawn-inducing sports biopic about the Italian automotive mogul whose family name has been synonymous with speed, power & luxury, Ferrari intends to showcase the personal struggles & professional crisis of a man trying to keep his auto empire afloat only to end up halfway on both fronts. Lacking in horsepower, flat in structure, devoid of a well-oiled engine & also short of a full tank, Michael Mann's latest swerves & steers with no confidence, has no momentum or sense of direction, fails to create any adrenaline-fuelled moments even when the race is on, and is further marred by cold, distant & over-the-top performances, thus finishing as a bland & forgettable outing altogether.