4 stars out of 5
I think the last movie I saw directed by Michael Mann was Heat back in 1995. And prior to that, Manhunter in 1986. But I was a big Miami Vice fan, and perhaps unfairly associated Mann with style over substance. And while the racing scenes here give Mann plenty of opportunities to show off his flair for high-speed action (vroom! vroom!), his decades of experience as a screenwriter, director, and producer have taught Mann the finer points of storytelling. And here he delivers a fully satisfying movie.
His reputation also allows Mann to hire A-list leads: Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz as Mr. and Mrs. Ferrari. The film focuses on 1957, a challenging year for the Ferraris financially and personally (specifically, Mrs. F learns about Mr. F’s secret family — Shailene Woodley and Enzo Ferrari’s bastard son Piero). The Enzo that Driver gives us is modest but supremely confident — perhaps not hard to be when everyone calls you “Comandante.” Impeccably attired and with sunglasses on (more fashionable than Crockett and Tubbs ever were), he is unflappable — but can he remain so as interior and exterior pressures mount? And Cruz’s Laura Ferrari is no shrinking violet. She knows her crucial role in the family business and is ready to fight for what’s hers. In their first powerful shouting match, Mann shows he’s up to the task conveying human emotions. Plus I could sit in a theater all day and listen to the Italian pronunciation of “Laura.”
The bulk of the rest of the cast and a giant percentage of the crew is indeed rounded out by Italians, adding to the overall authenticity. The only other name actor (to us Yanks, anyway) is Patrick Dempsey as a driver for Team Ferrari. (He is perfectly cast, as Dempsey has long been an amateur racer himself.)
We see the importance of racing to the entire community, from children’s devotion to star drivers, to the men in church clicking their stopwatches when they hear a far-off starter’s pistol, to track if Maserati’s cars are faster than Ferrari’s. The traditions, joys, and heartbreak of the racing circuit are lovingly recreated. I’ll admit to getting choked up a time or two.
And in case you were wondering: In Ferrari versus Ford v Ferrari, Mann is without doubt the man.
Jack Silbert, curator