The climactic scene in Michael Mann’s Ferrari is a shocking re-creation of one of the most infamous disasters in racing history: the 1957 crash in Guidizzolo that killed 11 people, including Ferrari driver Alfonso de Portago (played by Gabriel Leone in the film) and five children. We’ve seen many car crashes onscreen over the years, but they’ve never been quite this traumatizing. Such scenes are usually spectacles, filled with nifty cuts (usually to hide stunts and effects work) and dramatic music. Mann opts for a ruthless, matter-of-fact approach, keeping his camera at a medium distance and refusing to pull away from the devastation. By removing anything that smacks of style or artifice, he brings us face-to-face with the full tragedy of what’s happening. He even slows the action slightly to make sure we really see it. Then he shows us the gruesome aftermath.
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