Michael Mann’s Slick ‘Ferrari’ Is Fueled by a Great Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz

Alci Rengifo

The films of Michael Mann have always been defined by style. While he is also a keen screenwriter fascinated by characters living on the edge, it is Mann’s images that have influenced countless other directors, especially in the crime genre. This is important to note when approaching his new film, “Ferrari.” It barely goes beyond the surface of a man defined by a stylish creation that also defines speed. Even in terms of scale it doesn’t aim for anything beyond covering a few months in the life of Enzo Ferrari. Mann, himself a perfectionist obsessed with the details, just wants to profile a little of his subject’s activities to say just enough about him. What drives the movie forward are the intriguing performances.

The year is 1957 and Ferrari (Adam Driver) is nearing 60. He is already renowned in Italy for his race car brand, which can attract buyers as luxurious as Jordan’s King Hussein. But the company hasn’t expanded into real mass production, so the finances are not looking good. Ferrari’s key partner is his wife, Laura (Penélope Cruz), who has the necessary, unsparing attitude to keep the books in order. She has also endured her husband’s affairs and the loss of a son. The big man is being advised to partner with proper financiers like Ford. Competitors like Maserati are waiting for the legendary Ferrari to fail. His best shot at saving the brand is by winning the thousand mile Mille Miglia race. Such a feat will boost demand for mass manufacturing of Ferrari’s cars. But Ferrari has to juggle focusing on the race with Laura finding out about his illegitimate son with another woman, Lina Lardi (Shailene Woodley).

“Ferrari” marks Michael Mann’s return to the big screen in eight years after the ill-received “Blackhat,” a hacker thriller that was muddled but still full of vibrant visuals. Cinephiles who gush over Mann’s classic catalog are surely rejoicing, even if this feels more like the filmmaker gearing up for more. He has already announced a sequel to his 1995 classic crime epic, “Heat.” But this one is also a passion project, since Mann has always been a big fan of Ferrari’s brand and started developing the film decades ago. What is surprising is how a filmmaker known for high-octane intensity in films like “Collateral” and “Miami Vice,” goes for a subdued, reflective tone here. “Ferrari” is a rather somber meditation on the day-to-day activities of a man nearly losing great power. Even Italy dissipates as a place and we never get a feel for the culture and times that shaped Ferrari. What did he think about Mussolini? It doesn’t matter here. 

The screenplay by Troy Kennedy Martin is officially based on the book “Enzo Ferrari: The Man and the Machine” by Brock Yates, though we don’t really learn much about the subject’s backstory. “Ferrari” exists in a self-contained terrain where Ferrari paces around his office and garage, making sure his driving team gives him accurate reports on the cars. He stands stoic by a race track, watching his product zoom by, annoyed that a driver’s actor girlfriend is distracting eyes. Home is a battle zone with the fierce Laura, played by a transformed Penélope Cruz, who cares for Ferrari but won’t let him take control of her shares without promising $500,000 in compensation. Their marriage is scarred by having a son die from muscular dystrophy. Ferrari escapes the gloom by visiting his mistress and young son. Driver and Cruz are well-matched on the surface. He too is fierce but with a quiet focus that can sometimes feel one-noted, resulting in Cruz stealing the show. Alas, Shailene Woodley just can’t tango with these two and is the film’s one true misfire, unconvincingly delivering dramatic monologues that get too soapy.

But this guy made one of the world’s most famous race cars, right? Indeed, so “Ferrari” does have gorgeous sequences of sports racing through lush Italian valleys, filmed with elegance by Erik Messerschmidt, who recently lensed David Fincher’s “The Killer.” Even here, Mann goes more for the look than sheer suspense. What very much stands out is that the racing looks real and practical instead of overloading on CGI. As his team blaze through wind and rain, it feels real. Where digital does get in the way is in the film’s two bloody car crashes, which feel anyway like odd side notes. Mann seems so fascinated by Ferrari that he doesn’t quite know where to settle and the character almost escapes him like in his 2001 film “Ali” about boxing icon Muhammad Ali. 

Because Mann is such a master of pacing and aesthetic, “Ferrari” is still an engaging film. Curiously enough, it leaves us truly wanting more. The ending feels too abrupt, like a chapter ending half-way just as Ferrari faces an even greater legal and publicity crisis following one of the crashes. Mann’s best films have always been about characters engaged in complete arcs, from his riveting journalism thriller “The Insider” to “Manhunter,” the first Hannibal Lecter movie. “Ferrari” thrives on the presence of an aged Adam Driver pushing for perfection, not realizing how cold and closed off he’s becoming, and Cruz’s would-be matriarch balancing loving this man while feeling betrayed. They deserve a broader scope and sharper profiles. And yet, “Ferrari” still has the feel of a skilled craftsman at work, of a director who enjoys composing images and the feel of making a movie. It marks his return to the race course, leaving us waiting for the next lap.

“Ferrari” releases Dec. 25 in theaters nationwide.