Death haunts Ferrari. Michael Mann’s new film confines itself to three months in Modena, Italy, in the summer of 1957, a crucial period in the life of Enzo Ferrari and the automobile company that bears his name. Ferrari (Adam Driver) and his wife, Laura (Penélope Cruz), are at odds following the recent death of their son, Dino, from muscular dystrophy at age 24. Each is alone in their grief: Every morning Enzo brings flowers to his son’s grave and weeps; Laura—grimmer, silent—waits until he leaves, then brings her own. Enzo keeps his mistress Lina (Shailene Woodley) in a house outside of town, where another son—unacknowledged, and as yet undiscovered by Laura—lives too. Meanwhile, the company, of which Laura is part owner, is failing: It is not making enough road cars to support the racing team, while Ferrari’s racers, whose prestige in turn powers the retail business, are themselves under threat from Maserati. The creditors are closing in; Laura is poking around in Enzo’s affairs; his drivers are getting distracted and getting killed; and his son by his mistress wants to know what his last name is. Ferrari pins his hopes on winning the Mille Miglia, a thrilling and, in retrospect, macabre 1,000-mile race through the spectator-thronged roads of Italy that after 1957 would never be run again. This is the make-or-break moment for Ferrari. He must win, or lose everything. On the way to the race, Enzo stops over to see Lina. “How much time do you have?” she asks. Not enough.
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