Ephemeris of the Mind (Film Review) Ferrari
Time to read: 3 min read
Movie Poster
You lack commitment. Look at the Maserati team. Fangio. Behra. Stirling Moss. Hard-nosed pros. Men with a brutal determination to win. With a cruel emptiness in their stomachs. Detachment. Loyal to one thing- not the team. Loyal to their lust to win. It rains. The track is slick with oil, an evil-handling car. Will they falter? No. My spring team. Skillful? Courageous? Yes. Recently in school. Aristocrats from Almanach de Gotha. Gentleman sportsman. Very nice. On the straight into the tight corner at Nouveau Monde, there's only one line through it. Behra pulls up next to you, challenging. You're even. But two objects cannot occupy the same point in space at the same moment in time. Behra doesn't lift. The corner races at you. You have perhaps a crisis of identity: "Am I a sportsman or a competitor? How will the French think of me if I run Behra into a tree?" You lift, he passes. He won, you lost! Because at that same moment, Behra thought, "Fuck it, we both die." Make no mistake, all of us are racers- or have been. We are all certain, "It will never happen to me." Then my friend is killed. I give up racing forever on Monday. I'm back racing by Sunday. We all know it's our deadly passion. Our terrible joy. But if you get into one of my cars- and no one is forcing you to take that seat- you get in to win. Brake later. Steal their line. Make them make the mistake.
Previous Michael Mann film review:
Review
Adam Driver plays Enzo Ferrari, the legendary Italian entrepreneur behind the eponymous race car brand. The story takes place in 1957 and Ferrari is facing challenges both domestically with his estranged wife Laura (Penélope Cruz) and externally with his company, which is facing dire financial struggles. Ferrari hopes to win the Mille Miglia, a treacherous 1000 mile race across Italy.
I like how the film focuses on a narrow (and very dramatic) period of Ferrari’s life. There are two main plots happening concurrently. The first is between Driver’s Ferrari and Cruz’s Laura, where Ferrari tries to keep his mistress Lina (Shailene Woodley) and their son Piero (Giuseppe Festinese) hidden from the volatile Laura. The second is the Mille Miglia, where Ferrari tries to orchestrate the victory at the endurance race in order to beat Maserati headed by his rival Adolfo Orsi (Domenico Fortunato) in order to sell more cars and keep Ferrari afloat financially.
The script is very slow and mostly uneventful, but both Driver and Cruz were fantastic in their roles. I do feel that character development could have been more in depth but the dramatic confrontations are very well done. As with Ford v Ferrari, this film is a treat for car aficionados. The film features several vintage cars, such as the iconic Ferrari 335 S and the unassuming Peugeot 403. The film also features many famous drivers from the time, such as Alfonso de Portago (Gabriel Leone), Peter Collins (Jack O'Connell), and Piero Taruffi (Patrick Dempsey). Overall, despite being directed by Mann, the film feels very slow, almost morose, even during the racing scenes. The cinematography is very aesthetic, though.
Conclusion
A bit too slow, but nice to look at the various iconic cars.