by Samuel Nichols, Contributing Writer
“What have you done?” is perhaps the worse question someone can be asked. The looming sense of doom surrounding the question makes us wonder what happened. When the reality of disaster and the consequences of our own choices sink in, we have to face it or run. And sometimes you just run (or drive) as fast as you can. But you won’t always be able to outrun the disaster you’ve left behind.
Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) is desperate. His business is failing and bleeding money. The racing side of his company is falling behind and seeing mechanical errors at every turn. His wife, Laura (Penélope Cruz), hates him, but still wants him at home to be around. His mistress, Lina (Shailene Woodley), wants him around as well, but for their son. But no matter what anybody else wants, Enzo cannot help himself from going to the track. There’s nothing he wants more than for his racing team to succeed at all costs. He knows a good team on the asphalt will produce more sales in his books. Gambling everything on the 1957 Mille Miglia race, more than his company’s stock price is on the line, as his business and his family’s future depends on the outcome of this race.
What I can say for Ferrari is that there is no debate regarding what this movie is about: dealing with consequences. Everything that happens to a character not named Enzo Ferrari can be traced back to him. He feels unhappy, his son suffers for it. He pushes his team too hard, someone is hurt on the track. He doesn’t come home in the morning, his wife is distraught. But what makes it more interesting is Ferrari’s lack of response to his actions. There is a pattern of behavior where he refuses to face what he has done and what it has done to those around him. It makes him seem cold and distant, when perhaps he isn’t capable of facing up to his circumstances.
The person most impacted by this is his long-suffering wife, Laura. She cannot bear the sight of her husband for the loss of their child, which she still blames on him. Yet she still wants him around at every turn so they can face what has happened. His refusal to do this is the driving force of their conflict. He’d rather be at the track or in the garage.
You can guess my feelings on the performances here. Of course, Driver gives a strong solitary performance as the titan of industry. He’s sleek, aloof, and seemingly focused only on winning at the track. Driver does well, but Cruz steals the show. Laura is a ball of kinetic energy and uncertainty. One moment, she is absolutely distraught. The next, she is shooting a gun at her own husband. Cruz is electric, powerful, and heart-wrenching all at once. If not for the incredible performance of Da’Vine Joy Randolph in The Holdovers this year, Cruz would be a best supporting actress contender.
The rest of the cast is respectable. Woodley isn’t given much to chew on in her few scenes opposite Driver, but she does her best. It was a shock to see Patrick Dempsey in the driver’s seat with some excellently dyed-white hair. He plays Piero Taruffi, one of Ferrari’s drivers and a veteran of a sport. I let out an audible gasp when I saw McDreamy behind the wheel.
My last compliment is the cinematography. I imagine that the racing world is a difficult one to photograph in such a way that we can feel the adrenaline in a racer’s eyes. But director Michael Mann does quite well bringing the tension to our seats without hurting the action. He’s also still capable of showing the incredible danger of this world, as multiple crashes are shown. One in the third act is particularly harrowing.
While I’m not certain how much Oscar buzz this movie is deserving of, I definitely enjoyed my time at the cineplex for this one. It’s worth a watch.
Rating: Liked It
Ferrari is currently playing in theaters
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