Review: ‘Ferrari’ fails to maintain a consistent speed

A scene from ‘Ferrari’ courtesy of

‘Ferrari’ excels in the high-velocity sections, but wavers in scenes that centre on Enzo Ferrari’s personal difficulties.

For most people, the commercial vehicle is the be-all-and-end-all of cars. It gets them from A to B, carrying whatever precious cargo they may be transporting at the time. Coming in all shapes and sizes, these users tend to be more concerned with the colour and utility than the speed at which it can go from 0 to 60 km/h. However, the manufacturers’ focus may be elsewhere, applying profits from their everyday cars to pay for other ventures, particularly on the speedway. In Ferrari, audiences are taken back to the early days of the Italian factory and its racing dominance.

Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) was a race car driver, designing and building cars for the track. After his retirement from the circuit, he and his wife, Laura (Penélope Cruz), went into the business of luxury vehicles, producing fast cars for royalty and dignitaries. But Enzo’s passion still lay with racing, building a team of brave drivers to exert his dominance over other carmakers. In 1957, he almost lost it all as his racing budget exceeded commercial profits and the factory was on the brink of bankruptcy. In addition, Enzo’s personal life is unsettled when he’s forced to decide if his son with his long-time mistress, Lina Lardi (Shailene Woodley), will publicly bear the Ferrari name.

Even though this is a movie about Enzo Ferrari, it cannot be told without the cars or a few high-stakes races. The Ferrari’s early designs are captured beautifully in the film, emphasizing their speed and the risk that accompanied getting behind the wheel of the vibrant red machine. However, there are really only four races featured in the picture — two against a stopwatch, one on a small, black-and-white television and the last, Mille Miglia, which crosses a 100-mile stretch of Italy. Notably, both the stopwatch sprints are very intense. The first is the result of brilliant editing, while the second is filled with anxious, must-go-faster energy. But the real racing occurs at the end of the picture, pitting Ferrari against its European rival, Maserati, in a cross-country contest through winding roads and villages.

One of the things this movie doesn’t minimize is the danger racing held for the drivers and spectators. Now, there are many safety measures in place to protect competitors if or when they crash, as well as precautions to prevent flying debris from injuring bystanders. Then, a driver took his life into his hands each time he got into the car. Anything from a mechanical malfunction to an obstacle in the road could send the vehicle careening through the air with little chance of survival. The risk is so high, racers would leave letters for their loved ones before a race, much like a soldier would prepare before going to war. Consequently, the accidents in this picture are horrific as director Michael Mann doesn’t pull any punches in revealing the violence that can be dispensed by a high-speed vehicle.

The cars are only part of the story, leaving the larger portion to be occupied by Enzo’s personal drama. This is where the movie falters to some degree. The exchanges between Enzo and Laura are generally impassioned with a constant fire behind Cruz’s eyes, raging when she’s angry, and still smoldering when she’s calculating and plotting. Conversely, the conversations between Enzo and Lina are repetitive and dull, always coming back to his son’s name and never revealing anything more about their characters. Cutting some of this dialogue would provide some much needed tightening in the narrative and reduce the need to listen to their poor accents for any longer than required. The film rests on Driver’s shoulders and he lights up when he’s discussing cars and racing, but the more intimate interactions suffer in comparison, creating an uneven performance that unbalances the film.

Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley