Ferrari is
a 2023 American biographical sports drama film directed by Michael Mann and
written by Troy Kennedy Martin. Based on the 1991 biography Enzo Ferrari: The
Man, the Cars, the Races, the Machine by motorsport journalist Brock Yates, the
film follows the personal and professional struggles of Enzo Ferrari, the
Italian founder of the car manufacturer Ferrari S.p.A., during the summer of
1957. Adam Driver portrays the titular subject, and co-stars Penélope Cruz,
Shailene Woodley, Sarah Gadon, Gabriel Leone, Jack O'Connell, and Patrick
Dempsey.
Ferrari was
selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 80th Venice International Film
Festival, where it premiered on August 31, 2023. It was released in the United
States on December 25, 2023, by Neon. It received generally positive reviews
from critics and was named one of the top 10 films of 2023 by the National
Board of Review.
Plot
In the
summer of 1957, Enzo Ferrari, reeling from the death of his son Dino, the
deteriorating marriage with his wife Laura, his struggled acknowledgement of
his second son with his mistress Lina, and his company's impending bankruptcy,
enters his racing team to the 1957 Mille Miglia.
Cast
Adam Driver as
Enzo Ferrari
Penélope Cruz as
Laura Ferrari
Shailene Woodley
as Lina Lardi
Sarah Gadon as
Linda Christian
Gabriel Leone as
Alfonso de Portago
Jack
O'Connell as Peter Collins
Patrick
Dempsey as Piero Taruffi
Michele Savoia as
Carlo Chiti
Lino Musella as
Sergio Scaglietti
Domenico
Fortunato as Adolfo Orsi
Jacopo Bruno as
Omer Orsi
Erik Haugen
as Edmund "Gunner" Nelson
Ben Collins
as Stirling Moss
Wyatt
Carnell as Wolfgang von Trips
Andrea Dolente as
Gino Rancati
Giuseppe Bonifati
as Giacomo Cuoghi
Daniela Piperno
as Adalgisa Ferrari
Tommaso Basili as
Gianni Agnelli
Benedetto
Benedettini as Alfredo Ferrari
Giuseppe
Festinese as Piero Lardi
Marino Franchitti
as Eugenio Castellotti
Valentina Bellè
as Cecilia Manzini
Jonathan
Burteaux as King Hussein of Jordan
Production
Michael
Mann first began exploring making the film around 2000, having discussed the
project with Sydney Pollack. In August 2015, Christian Bale entered
negotiations to star as Ferrari. Filming was planned to begin in summer 2016 in
Italy. In October 2015, Paramount Pictures bought the worldwide distribution
rights for the film. Bale exited the film in January 2016 over concerns of
meeting the weight requirements for the role before the start of production.
The project stalled until April 2017, when Hugh Jackman entered negotiations to
portray Ferrari, and Noomi Rapace as his wife with Paramount no longer
involved. The project would again go dormant until June 2020. Mann and Jackman
were still attached, with Rapace no longer involved and with STX International
taking over international distribution. Filming was set to begin in April 2021.
In February
2022, Jackman had since left the film, with Adam Driver now starring as
Ferrari. Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley also joined the cast. At the same
time, STXfilms also secured domestic distribution rights for the film with a
theatrical release planned.[14] In July, Gabriel Leone, Sarah Gadon, Jack
O'Connell and Patrick Dempsey were added to the cast. Pre-production began in
April 2022, with filming originally set to commence in July in Modena.
Principal
photography began on August 17, 2022, in Italy. Filming occurred in Brescia in
early October. Production of the film wrapped in late October 2022.
A
first-look was released in October 2022, with two pictures. The film had its
world premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on August 31,
2023.
Originally
scheduled to be released by STX in the United States, North American
distribution rights to the film were acquired by Neon in July 2023, following a
bidding war which also included A24 and an unnamed streaming service, and dated
for wide theatrical release in the United States on December 25, 2023.
The film is
scheduled to be released on Sky Cinema and Now in the United Kingdom in 2023
with STX retaining all other international rights.
In the
United States and Canada, Ferrari will be released alongside The Boys in the
Boat and The Color Purple, and is projected to gross around $1 million on its
first day.
Critical response
On the
review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 73% of 124 critics' reviews are
positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads:
"Sleek and well-acted, Ferrari overcomes its occasionally underpowered
narrative to deliver a rousing and admirably complex biopic."[31]
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 74 out
of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable"
reviews.
Marlow
Stern of Rolling Stone praised Penélope Cruz's performance, writing:
"There is an unstoppable force at the center of Michael Mann’s Ferrari. It
is fast, fierce, and wildly unpredictable. One moment it has you in the throes
of ecstasy; the next, fearing for your life. And when you see it coming around
the bend, it’s curtains. Don’t even bother putting up a fight. You’ll lose. I’m
talking, of course, about Penélope Cruz".
Damon Wise
of Deadline Hollywood was more critical of Adam Driver's performance, stating:
"Given what's at stake [in the film], a strangely unemotional lead
performance from Adam Driver makes it hard to warm to this odd and deeply
self-absorbed character. Add in the glacial pace of its narrative, and a film
expected to take an early awards-season lead will struggle to hold that pole
position."
Italian
actor Pierfrancesco Favino criticized the film for casting American actors to
portray Italian characters, instead of Italian actors.
No comments:
Post a Comment