‘Ferrari’ Review — Penélope Cruz Dominates Michael Mann’s Biopic

Before the climactic 1957 Mille Miglia race near the end of Michael Mann’s Ferrari, the company’s racing team each leaves letters to their loved ones in case they don’t make it through the finish line. Earlier on in the film, Adam Driver’s Enzo Ferrari tells these same racers that they should be willing to die to win for the Ferrari brand, and as a former racer himself, the company’s owner calls racing a “terrible joy.” Throughout Ferrari, Mann and the script by the late Troy Kennedy Martin (1969’s The Italian Job), frequently equate racing to war—which makes sense considering Italy and its people are still reckoning with the pains of World War II. The Ferrari family is still grieving the losses of their past, the choices that were made, and the understanding that they’ll never be the same again. By making Ferrari less of a sports film and more of an introspective look at the car creator, Mann has ended up making a fantastic war film, and his best work since 2004’s Collateral.