For a film helmed by Michael Mann and starring Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz, I was expecting a lot more from this.

By the end, I didn't feel like I was much closer to Enzo Ferrari or his wife. I didn't come away with much more of an understanding or appreciation of the racing element. I didn't feel overly thrilled or engaged.

This all sounds a bit negative, but that's not to say there aren't positives to this film. Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz are really strong, even if they don't peel back the layers of the characters enough for me. However this is more of a criticism of the script than the performances. The racing scenes are well executed although could be a little more exciting and perhaps even shot a little better. Speaking of the direction, it is fine but I think there was potential to really get creative and design some thrilling set pieces. It probably didn't help that the pacing of this film was totally off, feeling much longer than it actually is, which reduced the impact of some of these scenes.

Overall I think this is a film of what could have been. There's an interesting story and an interesting man at the heart of all of this, but it just wasn't teased out enough.

Saw this at the 2023 filmfestival Ghant (Belgium). Obviously, the main topic is cars and car races, but there is also a mixture of family drama (illegitimate son versus son of current wife who thus gave him an alternative heir, woman with money prepared to invest, and so on) to make it compatible for family viewing. Actually, you can consider it two films, nicely intermixed with another. The car race fans will find plenty to watch, and the rest of the film moves the family story forward. Implicitly we know that the story ends well; this is no spoiler, given that the name Ferrari still exists as a car brand.

Nice details in abundance. Drivers can have girlfriends who either distract or stimulate. When drivers bring their girlfriends along, the press tends to ignore the cars and focus on the women, to the dismay of Ferrari. He asks a journalist to bring a rumor in the world, letting him also mention in the same article that he firmly denies it, playing the cards for a business deal. And there is his wife with independent means and lots of money to spare, who has her own set of requirements when willing to invest in the company.

All in all, I did not regret booking tickets, although I feared beforehand that car races would be the main course on the menu. My fears were unjustified. There is ample family and relational drama to keep everyone's attention, and the car races do not distract but enhance the experience.

Ferrari chooses a very interesting and kinda unconventional part of the true story to adapt. Instead of going for a conventional underdog story it's a much more intense, more interesting film that shows how masculinity and ambition desensitise someone to the tragedy that surrounds them.

Adam Driver delivers a performance that may not be in the upper tier of his work but this is still terrific stuff, and the accent is better here than in House of Gucci. His inability to process his own grief hangs over the whole film, the fact that he couldn't fix it clearly eats at him all the time and the one outburst it builds to is glorious.

Penélope Cruz is given a role that is usually pretty thankless in this genre and does so much. She is terrifying without saying a word and holds a lot of power. Shailene Woodley on the other hand, isn't given much to do and her accent isn't consistent and yet she's still good enough to prevent that from being a major distraction.

Michael Mann's direction gets just as close to the racing as it does to Adam Driver's stern face. The racing sequences themselves are electric, by getting as close as possible, the speed and danger are definitely felt. It all culminates in a horrifying crash in which the lack of sound makes it even more impactful.