Ferrari
Year: 2023
Rating: R
Length: 130 minutes / 2.17 hours
Almost ten years after his previous film released, Michael Mann is back with a biopic about the private and public struggles of one of the greatest carmakers. The irony of Ferrari (2023) is that the women surrounding him seem much more interesting than the man himself. Even the fittingly named Adam Driver doesn’t seem to transform into Enzo Ferrari as much as just be Adam Driver with some extra makeup on and an Italian accent. To say that I was disappointed that there wasn’t more racing in a movie about Ferrari would be an understatement.
Ferrari is yet another biopic that tries to show the struggles of a famous man whose extramarital affairs complicate things that otherwise wouldn’t be nearly as complicated. Perhaps this is why Penelope Cruz’s performance as Laura Ferrari was the standout role in this film, as she was the only one holding his empire together despite him having birthed an heir through his mistress, Lina (Shailene Woodley). It doesn’t make me sympathetic to his plight, that he has to financially support his business and two families. Someday, maybe we’ll get a biopic about a faithful husband, but Ferrari isn’t it.
After absolutely loving Ford v Ferrari (2019), I was expecting more of a racing movie here and it did not deliver. Sure, it was there as a subplot (with a shocking twist), but the amount of time spent on the racing aspect of Ferrari’s life felt so minimal as to have been an afterthought. My expectations were high for this film, considering Mann’s previous works like Heat (1995) and Collateral (2004). I don’t know if a different leading man would have saved this film for me, or if a more focused script would have helped. Either way, this was not the Ferrari movie I wanted.
A disappointing movie both from a Ferrari and a Michael Mann perspective, I give Ferrari 2.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
