Ferrari (2023)
Michael Mann takes the director's chair for 2023's Ferrari a lavish but overlong combination of biopic and melodrama that provides a lot more entertainment in the melodrama portion of the story.
This look at former car racer and manufacturer Enzo Ferrari begins in 1957 Italy where we find the automobile mogul embroiled in crises in both his professional and personal life. His company is circling the bankruptcy drain but could bail himself out with the assistance of his wife, from whom he is estranged but she still holds major shares in the company. He is advised that his company will go under with his wife's shares, but he has to figure out how to do this without letting his wife know about his current mistress, Lini, with whom he shares a son.
The screenplay by Troy Kennedy Martin and Brock Yates is kind of sketchy and doesn't offer a lot of insight into who Enzo Ferrari was. He appears to be a man of passion but we're never sue of exactly what. We're never really offered any explanation as to how this iconic mogul allowed his company to slide to the edge of bankruptcy, but we do see a man who doesn't have a lot of compassion for his employees. Less than 15 minutes into the running time, we see Ferrari witness the death of a driver and barely bat an eye.
The film does work when it concentrates on Ferrari and his relationship with these two women in life. This seems to be the part of his life where Ferrari executes very little control and can't keep either woman in his life happy, especially wife Laura, who doesn't mind an open marriage as long as it doesn't involve her in any embarrassing sound bytes. Love the scene where Enzo goes to Laura to try and persuade her to sell her shares and the scene ends in sex. There are a lot of scenes of driving involving lovely photography that just about put me to sleep until a shocking plot twist 20 minutes before the end that I should have seen coming but didn't.
Mann gets strong assistance from his cinematographer and his film editor in setting up the canvas for this story. Both Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman turned down the role of Ferrari before it came to Driver, who delivers a solid performance in the title role, but it is Oscar winner Penelope Cruz, who steals every scene she has Laura, providing the majority of the film's thunder and ice.
Michael Mann takes the director's chair for 2023's Ferrari a lavish but overlong combination of biopic and melodrama that provides a lot more entertainment in the melodrama portion of the story.
This look at former car racer and manufacturer Enzo Ferrari begins in 1957 Italy where we find the automobile mogul embroiled in crises in both his professional and personal life. His company is circling the bankruptcy drain but could bail himself out with the assistance of his wife, from whom he is estranged but she still holds major shares in the company. He is advised that his company will go under with his wife's shares, but he has to figure out how to do this without letting his wife know about his current mistress, Lini, with whom he shares a son.
The screenplay by Troy Kennedy Martin and Brock Yates is kind of sketchy and doesn't offer a lot of insight into who Enzo Ferrari was. He appears to be a man of passion but we're never sue of exactly what. We're never really offered any explanation as to how this iconic mogul allowed his company to slide to the edge of bankruptcy, but we do see a man who doesn't have a lot of compassion for his employees. Less than 15 minutes into the running time, we see Ferrari witness the death of a driver and barely bat an eye.
The film does work when it concentrates on Ferrari and his relationship with these two women in life. This seems to be the part of his life where Ferrari executes very little control and can't keep either woman in his life happy, especially wife Laura, who doesn't mind an open marriage as long as it doesn't involve her in any embarrassing sound bytes. Love the scene where Enzo goes to Laura to try and persuade her to sell her shares and the scene ends in sex. There are a lot of scenes of driving involving lovely photography that just about put me to sleep until a shocking plot twist 20 minutes before the end that I should have seen coming but didn't.
Mann gets strong assistance from his cinematographer and his film editor in setting up the canvas for this story. Both Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman turned down the role of Ferrari before it came to Driver, who delivers a solid performance in the title role, but it is Oscar winner Penelope Cruz, who steals every scene she has Laura, providing the majority of the film's thunder and ice.
Last edited by Gideon58; 1 week ago at 04:56 PM.