Starring Adam Driver, Penelope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Sarah Gadon, Gabriel Leon, Jack O'Connell and Patrick Dempsey. Written by Troy Kennedy Martin. Directed by Michael Mann. Budget $95 million. Running time 124 minutes.
Focusing on one year in the life of Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver), 1957, the film chronicles the near collapse of his Ferrari company, his crumbling marriage to Laura (Penelope Cruz) thanks to his affair with his mistress Lina (Shailene Woodley) and the infamous 1957 Mille Miglia road race.
With so much story to cram in, the film never leaves fourth gear, and as a result races through the events of that seminal year with barely a pitstop. It's a film that looks great, the Italian setting is a delight and as always Adam Driver gives a commanding performance, although in this race, it's Penelope Cruz who snatches the checkered flag with her emotional performance. However it's ultimately a rather dull experience as we're bounced from one business boardroom drama to a bedroom one in alternate scenes, with race-track action shoe-horned in to keep us invested. Adam Driver, as always, delivers a strong performance as the utterly driven Ferrari, obsessed with winning at any cost, regardless of the cost of money, or lives, or marriages.
We learn that the death of his son Dino had a devastating impact on his marriage to Laura and his subsequent fathering of an illegitimate son with his mistress, Lina hasn't done much to repair the emotional damage. When Ferrari is faced by the spectre of bankruptcy he's forced to put everything on the line by entering five of his cars in the legendary and deadly Mille Miglia road race, believing if he can finish in the top three, he'll save his company.
What follows, a long time in the coming, is the infamous road race itself (the last time it was ever raced), which ends at a devastating cost.
The film, reminded me of Ridley Scott's 2021 film House of Gucci, not only because both are obviously set in Italy and both star Adam Driver, but also in the directing style of both men. Lovely framed establishing shots, and tracking shots, beautiful views of the Italian countryside, immersive camera angles and great editing, this is a well mounted and beautiful looking film.
When the film focuses on the driving it's a gripping, white knuckle ride, made all the more dramatic by the obvious lack of safety features racing cars of the 50s offered their young drivers. Likewise the boardroom drama and clashes with Laura, who owned 50 % of the company, their collective grief over the death of their son powers the interactions greatly, however it's the repeated returns to domestic bliss with his mistress Lina which causes the film to miss-fire and stalls the film repeatedly, since there's no drama here at all just an idyll.
In the build up to the 1957 Mille race, we have several training sequences, one of which, featured in the trailer, ends in disaster, before the race itself gets going. Then the film lets rip, but by then I was left a little deflated.
I was excited to learn it was written by one of my favourite screenwriters, Troy Kennedy Martin who wrote some of my favourite films including The Italian Job, Kelly Heroes, Sweeney II, and the utterly incredible Edge of Darkness. And he wrote this back in 2009. It was well directed and acted and looks great but sadly I was just left a flat by it all.
7/10
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