Among the more exciting announcements regarding the 2023 movie year was that Michael Mann was returning to the director’s chair after over eight years away. The 80-year-old filmmaker, producer, and author has been behind some of my favorite movies including “Thief”, “The Last of the Mohicans”, “Heat”, “The Insider”, and “Collateral”. Now he’s back with a new film that’s significantly different from any of those highly-acclaimed gems.

As its name makes obvious, “Ferrari” is a biographical drama about Enzo Ferrari, the founder of the luxury sports car manufacturer that bears his name. The film is based on a 1991 biography by journalist Brock Yates. Mann and the late screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin wisely narrow their focus to a certain turbulent time in Enzo’s life – one marked by unbridled ambition, dark secrets, and tragedy. It’s more of a snapshot bio than a cradle-to-grave account which ends up serving this particular story perfectly.

The film is set during an eventful three months in 1957. Ten years earlier, racer turned automaker Enzo Ferrari (played by a terrific Adam Driver) and his wife Laura (an equally great Penélope Cruz) launched their car business in post-World War II Italy. But sales of his high-end sports cars are down and the business it is under the threat of bankruptcy. Enzo needs to sell more cars, but to do so requires the help of outside investors.

But just as much of the story (if not more) revolves around Enzo and Laura’s crumbling relationship. We see that their once loving marriage has soured, even turning volatile following the devastating death of their son Dino only one year earlier. Both are still mourning. But they’ve drifted too far apart to be of any comfort to each other. Instead their loss only fuels the growing animosity between them.

To make matters worse, Enzo has a side dish, Lina (played by Shailene Woodley whose on-again, off-again accent is both puzzling and kinda funny). Enzo keeps his mistress comfortably tucked away in a country chateau with their young son and eventual Ferrari heir, Piero. Laura knows of her husband’s dalliances and has even come to accept them (though with growing animus). But Enzo has kept his second family hidden, that is until Laura gets a whiff of his secret life. Does she use the revelation as leverage or does she poor out her vengeance and crush him?

Enzo is a person of contradiction and complexity which Mann impressively uncoils through his business life as much as his personal life. Though things are secretly imploding at home, the public sees Enzo as a national treasure – “a jewel in the crowd of Italy”. He’s a celebrity magnate who makes world-renowned cars that many admire but few can afford. Yet it’s not notoriety or esteem that drives him. It’s racing, and that’s what he determines to use to save his namesake company.

Enzo puts together a crack team of drivers that includes Spaniard Alfonso de Portago (Gabriel Leone), Englishman Peter Collins (Jack O’Connell), and fellow Italian Piero Taruffi (Patrick Dempsey in a wily bit of casting). He enters them into the prestigious Mille Miglia, a treacherous 992-mile open-road endurance race across Italy. Win the Mille Miglia and he’s sure to gain the attention of potential investors.

That builds to the film’s exhilarating final act where Mann’s technical knowhow shines. The racing of the Mille Miglia is as beautiful as it is thrilling with Mann and DP Erik Messerschmidt masterfully incorporating weaving cameras, intense closeups, and gorgeous wide shots to capture a palpable sense of speed and danger. It’s a spectacular display of craftsmanship that will have you holding your breath in anticipation one minute and gasping in horror the next.

To no surprise Adam Driver gives a rich and charismatic turn that sheds a revealing light on a man of many layers. With his combed-back silver hair, finely tailored suits, and stylish black sunglasses, Driver brings gravitas to the part. But it’s the way he conveys what’s lingering just under the surface that makes the performance so compelling. And Penélope Cruz matches him scene for scene. Her Laura is a torrent of emotions, understandably hurt and rightly angry. But she’s also smart and savvy – characteristics that are often hidden under her pain but that eventually burst through in a big way.

Those familiar with the 1957 Mille Miglia race will have a good idea of where the movie goes. But beyond that Mann and Martin surprise us with a unexpectedly heartfelt finish that puts a bittersweet cap on what is largely a heady, well-written drama. Mann has been trying to make this film for over two decades and you can feel his passion. You can also see the creative freedom that allowed him to take an unconventional and at times bold look at such a complicated and fascinating figure.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS