Ferrari Trailer Offers Glimpse at the ‘Deadly Passion’ That Made the Prancing Horse
The film promises a look at the man behind the world’s most special automotive brand.
The Ferrari biopic is due to hit cinemas this Christmas. In contrast to the sporting-focused Ford v. Ferrari or Rush, it's shaping up as more of an automotive House of Gucci, sans a scene-stealing Lady Gaga. The full trailer has now dropped, giving us a better look at the film to come.
Director Michael Mann has gone on record that Ferrari is "not a racing movie," but nevertheless, the trailer dives right into fast cars on an Italian mountain road at the outset, sounding glorious. Cut to Enzo Ferrari himself, auto patriarch par excellence, laying out his famously ruthless attitude towards motorsport. "Am I a sportsman, or a competitor?" Ferrari asks rhetorically. "If you get into one of my cars, you get in to win."
The vision of Ferrari sports cars screaming along the tarmac is intercut with shots of Ferrari and his family members, highlighting the film's strong dramatic bent. Ferrari the elder had a troubled home life at times, with the loss of his son and friction in his marriage. That appears to serve as a driving part of the narrative in this film.
Financial concerns for the Prancing Horse also figure strongly. The Ferrari head is confusingly implored to "Win the Mille Miglia, Enzo, or you are out of business." Like many similar pictures, expect Ferrari to stray a little from historical record for the sake of pacing and a digestible 130-minute runtime.
Meanwhile, if you're struggling to figure out who's playing Enzo, it's because Adam Driver was aged up for the role. He brings a certain severe gravitas that seems to fit the part well, and the talented actor makes a believable silver fox. Plus, he already had the whole Italian-accented English thing down from his appearance in House of Gucci.
Despite the director imploring that the film isn't just about cars going fast, Ferrari does appear to have plenty of automotive action, at least based on the trailer. We saw plenty in the early teaser footage, too. Most of the film appears to revolve around Ferrari's racing history, rather than the company's road cars. This makes sense, given that the focus of the Ferrari patriarch was very much on the sporting side of things.
Concerningly, though, some of the shots are a little cartoonish. In particular, we see a Ferrari hitting a mile marker before bouncing into the air as if it's just hit a trampoline. Here's hoping that's a preview shot that the effects house is going to fix before release. Michael Mann, if you need a CGI hookup, I know a guy.
At this stage, Ferrari is looking like a good watch for fans of beautiful mid-century racecars. The Italian family drama, complete with a mistress and lovechild, should prove attractive to more general audiences, too. Here's hoping it can live up to the standard of past Mann classics like Heat. Fingers crossed.
Got a tip or tickets to the premiere? Let the author know: lewin@thedrive.com
