Ferrari - Release Date, Cast, Plot And More Info

Since his debut film "Thief" hit theaters in 1981, Michael Mann has enjoyed a reputation as one of the best working directors we have in America. Across masterfully mounted films like "Heat," "Collateral," and "Manhunter," he's also earned a somewhat unusual place in the filmmaking pantheon. He's become somewhat of a household name, his films generally do good business at the box office, and he tends to work in genre — from the noir to the thriller to the procedural. And yet his films also compete at prestigious international film festivals, they've been given Criterion releases, and he's often lumped in with "arthouse" directors like Paul Thomas Anderson and Wes Anderson, rather than action helmers like Michael Bay or Tony Scott.

All this is to say that Mann's career is a bit of a paradox, but it's a wonderful one, and new Michael Mann movies should always be regarded as appointment viewing. That's why it's so exciting that after eight years, Mann is back with a brand new film. "Ferrari," based on the life of the famed Italian car manufacturer and racer Enzo Ferrari, has already hit the international festival circuit, so we know quite a bit about the pristinely-shot biopic. 

If you're a Mann fan and are looking to make a Mann plan to see the new Mann ... film ... then here's everything you need to know.

"Ferrari" will get a wide theatrical release on Christmas day this year, December 25, 2023. The film has already screened to the critics, programmers, producers, and other film industry folks lucky enough to attend this year's Venice International Film Festival, where it competed for the "Golden Lion" (and lost to Yorgos Lanthimos' "Poor Things").

Mann's take on the life of Enzo Ferrari was met largely with critical praise, with Vulture's Bilge Ebiri calling it "visceral and chaotic, a fever dream (or maybe a nightmare) of speed and smoke" and The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney also calling it "visceral" as well as "unapologetically masculine." There were some dissenters, like The Guardian's veteran critic Peter Bradshaw, who said the film is "a weird combination of brash and dour" that "rarely puts the pedal to the metal." You can't win 'em all.

As one might imagine, "Ferrari" launched an epic bidding war when it premiered in Venice, but the title eventually went to Neon, who made the wise decision to premiere the film on thousands of screens before it eventually makes its way to streaming platforms.

"Ferrari" isn't Michael Mann's first biopic (see "Ali" and, to some degree, "Public Enemies"), and it isn't his first literary adaptation either. Indeed, Mann is fond of tapping literary and biographical texts, even magazine articles ("The Insider") as the source material for his films. "Ferrari" is based on Brock Yates' biography "Enzo Ferrari: The Man, The Car, The Races, The Machine." That book traces the whole course of Ferrari's life, from his humble origins in 1890s Modena, Italy, to his tenure with Alfa Romeo Automobiles as a racer, to his legendary ascent as the entrepreneur behind the luxury sports car manufacturer he gave his name to.

Mann's film, which was two decades in the making, zeroes in on a stretch of momentous months in Ferrari's life. It's 1957, demand for Ferraris has never been greater, and Enzo's marriage to his wife Laura (Penélope Cruz) is under strain. Adding to the strain is Ferrari's affair with a younger woman (Shailene Woodley), a sudden and intense personal loss, and a looming bankruptcy. The film interweaves these personal, domestic scenes with thrilling racing sequences, delivering something for every possible viewer.

The director of "Ferrari" is none other than Michael Mann. Mann graduated from the London Film School in the late '60s, which he attended at the same time as a coterie of future filmmaking talents illustrious enough to deserve their own "Brat Pack"-type squad name. Alan Parker, Ridley Scott, and Adrian Lyne were his compatriots, and their careers have charted similar trajectories over the years. The synergy with Scott in particular is at an all-time high, as Scott recently directed a biopic starring Adam Driver as an Italian luxury mogul — "The House of Gucci," in which he starred as the founder of the famed fashion label, Maurizio Gucci. Several reviews out of Venice pointed out the unfortunate resonance — unfortunate in that Driver's accent doesn't seem to have improve all that much despite months, maybe even years of practice at this point. 

Mann must have enjoyed his collaboration with Driver, as he went on record earlier this year to announce that a sequel to "Heat" is in development with Driver set to star. Mann released a sequel to the film already in novel form in 2022, co-written with Meg Gardiner. The filmed sequel has locked Driver into the cast as well as Al Pacino, who'll reprise his role as LAPD Lieutenant Vincent Hanna. Rumored though not confirmed to be cast are Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe– I mean, Austin Butler and Ana De Armas. If you're curious which actors we at /Film would love to see in the film, we have a few ideas.

Speaking of casts, "Ferrari" has a great one. Adam Driver anchors the ensemble as the larger-than-life impressario, Enzo Ferrari, but it's the supporting cast that has many excited. Playing the two opposing points in Ferrari's destructive romantic triangle are Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley. Cruz will play Laura, Ferrari's wife, to whom he remained married until her death. Woodley will play Lina Lardi, his mistress, with whom he had a son, Piero, who could not be recognized as his legitimate child per Italian family law. Piero is the current vice-chair of the Ferrari company.

Among the supporting ensemble are Sarah Gadon, who starred in a string of wonderful films by David Cronenberg ("A Dangerous Method," "Cosmopolis," and "Maps to the Stars"), and here will play the Mexican actress Linda Christian, who had a dark connection to the Ferrari company during her lifetime. Jack O'Connell ("Skins," "Unbroken," "Eden Lake") will play Peter Collins, a British racecar driver who had a similarly tragic relationship with Ferrari, and Patrick Dempsey, an actual Formula One driver, will play Piero Taruffi, a mid-century Italian Formula One driver. 

The trailer for "Ferrari," released by Neon last month, is riven with the vertiginous howl of Ferrari's Ferraris speeding around the Italian countryside and the racetrack alike. In fact the sound of a straining, roaring car engine is all you hear over brief scenes from the film, until the end, when Driver delivers the trailer's only spoken line in a similarly strained Italian accent: "If you get into one of my cars, you get in to win."

However the personal aspects play out in the film, we're sure to be in for some truly thrilling racing scenes. Given that it's Mann behind the camera, you'll know while watching that everything was done practically, adding immensely to the spectacle. When December rolls around you can start getting your screening plans in order. Gather all the Mann stans, form a Mann clan, and make a Mann plan to see "Ferrari" in theaters on Christmas day.