'Ferrari' Review
Rev up your engines for “Ferrari”.
Adam Driver gives a confident performance as legendary racer turned car maker Enzo Ferrari… once this movie gets away from its kind of soap opera-y, dreary, interpersonal squabbles and conflicts heavy first half. It shifts into a second half with some pretty good car racing scenes from the 1957 Mille Miglia, and higher stakes are involved. There’s some real, rigid, successful drama.
Hour 1 is kind of boring as we go through this specific time in his life when he’s dealing with two specific women — Lina, the mother of their 10-year-old son (Shailene Woodley in a thankless role) and Laura, Ferrari’s wife (played by Penelope Cruz, who gives a fine but not stellar performance).
There are also a few moments early on (especially the opening minute) that feel a little phony, and some of Michael Mann’s directorial decisions distracted me, including quick close-up edits. But it’s nice to see real-life racecar driver Patrick Dempsey in this (as Piero Taruffi). A few scenes with chatter about Henry Ford are interesting. (Of course, “Ford v. Ferrari” was released just four years ago.)
And the car crashes aren’t cheesy. A man at a recent “Ferrari” screening complained about them to Driver. Driver fired back. I don’t think Driver should’ve been that rude to that guy, but those moments in the film are anything but cheesy. In fact they’ll stay with you for a long time.
