FERRARI
I didn’t know anything about Ferrari the man, and the only thing I knew about the car is that it was almost every man’s dream car and a status symbol. After seeing the film, I understood a bit more. The film is based on the 1991 biography titled “Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races, the Machine,” written by Brock Yates.
Summary in the blink of an EYE: Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) was a man who lived to build and race cars. The film begins in the summer of 1957 and Enzo’s company is facing bankruptcy. He is banking on winning the Mille Miglia race which is a dangerous 1,000–mile race across Italy to become financially solvent. On the personal side, Enzo and Laura Ferrari were married and business partners for many years. Their marriage started unraveling after the death of their son Dino. Enzo’s infidelity led to a woman he loved and a son.
I didn’t think I would, but I enjoyed the film. I couldn’t decide if I liked Enzo or not. Adam Driver is Enzo in all ways. He is focused mainly on the cars, his drivers, his second family, his mother, and finally his wife and business partner Laura. He is cold and holds his grief in. However, there are times when the Driver lets us see the inner turmoil Enzo is going through personally. He runs it at the factory but not at home or on the business end.
Penelope Cruz is fantastic as Laura Ferrari, the solid businesswoman, the unhappy wife who knows her husband is seeing other women and no longer loves her and mourning her only son. Laura is smart and guides and understands what needs to be done to save the business.
I was also impressed with Patrick Dempsey who plays award-winning driver Piero Taru. I read that Patrick used to race cars and did his driving in the film.
The race car sequences had me on the edge of my seat. How did those drivers race on regular roads with twists and turns, narrow passages, the possibility of animals crossing the roads, and the dangers of crashing and family reading letters the drivers left behind just in case they didn’t make it home?
I think there are some real award-winning performances in FERRARI and an enjoyable film.
I give FERRARI 4 out of 5 winks of the EYE!
Until next time, keep your EYE to the sky!