Michael Mann’s latest film is a passion project about Enzo Ferrari, racing driver, founder of the luxury car brand and the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix racing team. Mann has been a fan of the cars since first seeing one in his student days and long planned to bring a film about Ferrari to the big screen.
Mann is best known for his testosterone-fuelled titles such as Heat, Collateral and Last of the Mohicans, so the appeal to him of Ferrari’s story seems clear. However, viewers may be surprised by the film’s angle, in which Enzo Ferrari’s personal life drives the plot, while racing scenes take something of a backseat.
The film’s casting performs a similar swerve, with the then-39-year-old Adam Driver drafted in to play 59-year-old Enzo Ferrari. Mann chose him after seeing his deft performance in Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” and cited Driver’s innate sense of humour as another reason to cast him as the acerbic car maker.
Sky
Ferrari release date
Ferrari will have its US cinema release on 25 December. Its UK release is just a day later, on 26 December.
If you have Sky Cinema, you’ll be able to watch Ferrari from the comfort of your own sofa when it’s released next year.
Ferrari plot
The action of Ferrari takes place during a few weeks in 1957, at a time of personal and professional crisis for Enzo Ferrari. The Ferrari company is facing bankruptcy and its motor racing team is preparing for the dangerous cross-country Mille Miglia race. Winning the race could save the company.
Enzo Ferrari’s personal life is equally turbulent. Still grieving the death of his son, Dino, with his wife and business partner Laura, he is struggling over whether to officially acknowledge his second son, the child of his girlfriend, Linda Lardi.
The film has a running time of two hours and ten minutes.
Ferrari cast
- Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari
- Penelope Cruz as Laura Ferrari
- Shailene Woodley as Lina Lardi
- Patrick Dempsey as Piero Taruffi
- Jack O’Connell as Peter Collins
- Gabriel Leone as Alfonso de Portago
Ferrari trailer