Steel, Asphalt, Death

A titan of industry is forged in the fires of grief-and denial.

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MICHAEL MANN’S rip-roaring Ferrari begins in unlikely silence. Early one morning, Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) wakes up in bed next to his mistress, Lina Lardi (Shailene Woodley), and quietly checks the time. He softly pulls a blanket over their sleeping young son, Piero. Then, he gently pushes his car out of the driveway so as not to make a sound. Ferrari, the great master of speed and screaming engines, the ruthless racing impresario who will admonish his drivers to “brake later,” is so tender with his family — this family, his other family, the one which he’s juggling alongside his marriage to the long-suffering Laura Ferrari (Penelope Cruz), who still happens to be an equal partner in his automotive business.

Ferrari takes place over a few pivotal months in 1957, a key year in the automaker’s life and career. The business is drowning in debt and his attorney is recommending he sell to an automotive giant like Ford or Fiat. Ferrari cars have stumbled on the race track. His local rival, Maserati, has just brought in the French driver Jean Behra to set new records. Perhaps more importantly, Enzo and Laura have just lost their son, Dino. Laura knows about Enzo’s many infidelities, but she does not know that he has a whole other family with Lina. Meanwhile, Piero is to be confirmed in a few weeks and still doesn’t know what his last name is. Enzo simply asks if the confirmation can be delayed. “Say he’s lost his faith in god,” he tells Lina. When it comes to his private life, the man is all evasion and avoidance.