In the titular role, Adam Driver, sporting white, slick-backed hair, looks dapper donning tailored suits and Jacques Marie Mage sunglasses. Given the actor’s surname, perhaps he was born to play this role. Driver takes the wheel of this two-hour, eleven-minute biopic about this fascinating and complex man, who maneuvers through financial struggles to the building of an indomitable empire, all the while navigating a turbulent personal life.
Set over three months in 1957 in Ferrari’s hometown of Modena, an ancient city in northern Italy (famous for its balsamic vinegar), the plot centers on his relationship with his disgruntled wife, Laura (Penelope Cruz), still reeling from the death of their 24-year-old son from muscular dystrophy. She puts up with her husband’s sexual indiscretions (which she tolerates as long as he abides by her rule that he’s home for breakfast every morning); despite her pragmatic mindset, she has been kept in the dark about a significant and clandestine relationship he has maintained for many years with Lina (Shailene Woodley), which produced an illegitimate son. It must be said that Cruz’s performance, hailed as her best yet (and deservedly so), walks a fine line between dry wit (she has the best lines in the film) and the rage of a woman scorned, whose marriage is falling apart in front of her. At the same time, as Enzo’s business partner she holds much power in the relationship. Woodley turns in a decent performance as Enzo’s mistress, though her Italian accent takes as many turns in the road as do her lover’s cars on the racing circuit.
While we follow some of the most glamorous vehicles traveling at breakneck speed along open roads as well as the track, the movie’s melodrama about his private life, conversely, plods along in the background at a decidedly low-horsepower pace. Enzo, who is in deep debt, struggles to compete with the likes of team Maserati, which is hot on his heels, yet he rallies to build the empire Ferrari would eventually become by trying to win the legendary race across Italy — the Mille Miglia. In doing so — with some exceptional new recruits — he creates much buzz surrounding the race. Tragically, this historic 1500-kilometre race resulted in a fatal crash that not only took the life of driver, Alfonso DePortego (Gabriel Leone), but that of nine spectators (including five children) who were keenly watching the race from the side of the street. The iconic race was first held in 1927, and on the back of this tragedy ended its run in 1957. Evidently, death is an occupational hazard for race-car drivers, and with an actuarial detachment emanating from this doleful fact, Enzo deals with the death of his drivers matter-of-factly, like just another day at the office.
The rest of the cast include Brett Smrz as Olivier Gendebien, and Jack O’Connell as Peter Collins. Patrick Dempsey, whose real-life second career is that of race-car driver, returns to his day job as a Hollywood actor for this movie, and puts that avocation to good use in the role of Piero Taruffi, one of Ferrari’s most accomplished drivers.
The film rests on the broad shoulders of Driver’s famed entrepreneur. This is his second turn playing an historical Italian figure, following his role as Maurizio Gucci in Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci. To Driver’s credit, he nails a generic Italian accent and accompanying mannerisms without relying on stereotypes. Thoroughly watchable, Driver’s depiction of the Ferrari founder, whose best years are behind him, is a treat to watch. Racing enthusiasts will no doubt flock to the movie theatres for the visceral experience of churning gears, the screaming of redlining engines, and the kaleidoscopic flashes of these exotic machines as they streak past the camera. For the rest of us, there is much to enjoy about the film as an intellectual spectator.
The film depicting the rise of Ferrari is due to be released in Australia and New Zealand in January 2024.
