The director Michael Mann has been quiet of late, but he returns to the big screen with his most high profile film in about 15 years. This is a passion project for him and it depicts how in the summer of 1957, with his car empire in crisis, Enzo Ferrari sets up and has a team take part in a treacherous 1,000 mile race across Italy.
A star studded cast has been assembled with Adam Driver as Ferrari, Penélope Cruz as his wife and Shailene Woodley as his mistress. Those three, especially the magnificent Woodley who does so much with a thin part, keeps the film afloat in the first half when it otherwise gets a little bogged-down with Enzo’s personal life.
Mann consistently uses extreme close-up shots in those talky scenes, to no great effect. But, he delivers a thrilling second half that concentrates mostly on the race. There are some amazing sequences where you feel like you are in the cars with the drivers. The culmination is an extraordinarily horrific crash that took my breath away.
This is an uneven film but when it is good, it is brilliant.
Rating: 8 out of 10