Greetings again from the darkness. Since there was no early screening of this for Dallas-Ft Worth critics and it hit theaters on Christmas Day, this review is a bit tardy, yet I find myself not caring too much – kind of how I feel about the movie itself. Rossa corsa is the official name of the red color used by Italian automaker Ferrari on their racing cars. Of course, most just refer to it as 'Ferrari red'. It's as distinctive as the familiar roar of Ferrari engines, and director Michael Mann takes advantage of both in his latest film. If only the story were half as interesting as the racing scenes.
The original script was written by the late Troy Kennedy Martin, who also wrote the two film versions of THE ITALIAN JOB (1969, 2003). He adapted the 1991 book, "Enzo Ferrari: The Man and the Machine" written by the late Brock Yates. Mr. Yates is also (unfortunately) remembered for THE CANNONBALL RUN (1981). Rather than a biopic, the film focuses on a very specific and limited period of time when Enzo Ferrari was staring down trouble in both his personal and professional lives … ho-hum subjects that draw attention from the spectacular racing scenes.
Adam Driver stars as Enzo Ferrari, putting to use the Italian accent he worked on for the recent HOUSE OF GUCCI (2021). His wife Laura is played by Penelope Cruz, and his long-time mistress Lina is played by Shailene Woodley. Driver is on screen for much of the film, but it's Cruz who delivers the two or three off-track scenes worth watching. As for Woodley, it's a mystery why she even took the role. Given nothing to sink her acting claws into, we can only hope/assume that something of interest was edited out for time. She is far too talented to be wasted in such a throwaway role.
When one thinks of "Ferrari", it's not the icon in sunglasses strutting through life that comes to mind. No, it's the cars. The red cars. And director Mann has built his career by giving us what we want in films such as THE INSIDER (1999), HEAT (1995), and THIEF (1981). The film soars when the cars are on screen. They are works of art and are a sight to behold whether zipping around the practice track or sharp-cornering the city streets of the tragic 1957 Mille Miglia (yes, that horrendous accident actually occurred). Ferrari's financial woes, marital strife, and emotional burden of two sons, never successfully draw us in to his personal drama, leaving much of the movie feeling quite flat. It's the cars that roar, not the people.
Opened nationally in theaters on December 25, 2023
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