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Project Hail Mary (2026) [PG13] *****
A film review by James Berardinelli for reelviews.net on March 20, 2026.
I wish there were more movies like Project Hail Mary – films that tease the intellect while appealing to emotion. A science fiction tale that focuses primarily on existential elements rather than space opera ones, the film gives a more believable version of space faring than what one finds in standard crowd-pleasing productions. It recognizes that the audience doesn’t need every scientific concept spoon-fed, allowing the logic of the mission to propel the drama rather than stall it. Sure, it has special effects aplenty and at least one white-knuckle action sequence, but it avoids enough of the genre's tropes to feel fresh. And, although not sufficiently grounded to qualify as hard sci-fi, it avoids the turns into fantasy often favored by the biggest blockbusters.
Like all survival stories, this one pits man against nature – in this case, the uncaring universe. There are no villains. There are no enemies to overcome. Project Hail Mary is mostly about navigating the unknown and achieving an unlikely objective. It's about finding a path forward when there's no safety net. When you're 12 light years away from Earth, no one is going to hear you scream. It's about coping with loneliness, finding friendship in the most unlikely of places, and coming to grips with the true meaning of sacrifice. It's about first contact and last rites, examining the heavy burden of being humanity's final representative in the cold dark.
Earth is dying. Not because of anything humanity did but because an anomalous stream of particles has set up shop near Venus and is siphoning off energy from the sun, gradually cooling it. This virus isn't isolated – every other star in the nearby galaxy is showing similar indications… except one. Projections are grim – perhaps 50% of Earth's population will die (mostly of starvation) within 30 years if a solution can't be found. The science-heavy setup is handled with a clarity that ensures the stakes are understood even if the physics are complex. So a group of scientists has devised Project Hail Mary – a long shot concept that will send astronauts to that far-off star to figure out how it is resisting the particles and send that information back to Earth via a probe. It's a suicide mission with a poor likelihood of success. And that's how middle school science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) finds himself a very long way from home when he awakens from a Rip Van Winkle-type induced coma and discovers that the only help he's going to get is from a stony, blocky alien he dubs Rocky (James Ortiz).
If the mission is Project Hail Mary's skeleton, the bond between Grace and Rocky is its heart. This isn't just Cast Away in space, and Rocky is a little more than an animated Wilson, but the parallels are apt. The slow, methodical process of building a shared vocabulary becomes as riveting as any high-stakes repair job. Serious sci-fi movies often address the lonely, isolated aspects of space travel – I'm thinking films like Moon and Gravity (not to mention 2001: A Space Odyssey) – but communicating with Rocky offers Grace not only a challenge but an opportunity to connect.
If there's a structural quibble to be made about Project Hail Mary, it's that this is really two equally compelling movies compressed into one and there are times when the shortcuts necessary to streamline them result in beats that aren't as forceful as they might be. On the one hand, there's the whole first contact aspect – humanity's initial interaction with an intelligent alien species. On the other hand, there's the save-the-world storyline. Both are worthy but, even with a generous 2 1/2-hour running time, there's a sense that the movie occasionally rushes through things that are deserving of a deeper exploration. It is a difficult balancing act to weigh global catastrophe against the intimacy of a two-character drama. Then again, one can understand how co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (the men behind The LEGO Movie and the Spider-Verse franchise) wanted to avoid slipping into Andrey Tarkovsky territory.
To change things up, the narrative is presented non-chronologically, starting with Grace awakening from stasis and discovering that his two experienced co-crew members are dead, then flashing back to the events that led to him being onboard the spaceship. The film follows this back-and-forth approach throughout, avoiding the trap of focusing too great a time on Grace's isolation.
The movie is Ryan Gosling and Gosling is the movie. Just as Buried relied on Ryan Reynolds, Moon fell squarely on the shoulders of Sam Rockwell, and Cast Away was all about Tom Hanks, Project Hail Mary needs Gosling in top form… and that's what Lord and Miller get. Gosling is committed – a little loopy, a little jittery, but always on point. He manages to anchor the premise with a relatable, sometimes humorous vulnerability. He's a nerd on Earth and MacGyver in space. The interactions between him and Rocky recall the Luke/Yoda scenes in The Empire Strikes Back: human actor and puppet (Ortiz not only provided Rocky's voice but also did the Frank Oz-type creature work) dispelling disbelief. Based on the trailers, I had feared that this interaction might be too cute but it's handled much better in long-form than the marketing-driven clips might indicate.
Project Hail Mary is more about the wonder of the unknown and the satisfaction of finding new friends. Star Trek famously stated: …to explore strange, new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go… Those objectives are in evidence here. There are no space battles but the central action sequence (deploying and retrieving the collector) is more exciting and fraught with tension than any ship-to-ship dogfight. Although the overall pace is unhurried, the sense of danger is always percolating and it occasionally bubbles over. This is the first film of 2026 that I have left feeling like I've experienced a movie the way it's meant to be. (Berardinelli's rating: 3.5 stars out of 4)
Like all survival stories, this one pits man against nature – in this case, the uncaring universe. There are no villains. There are no enemies to overcome. Project Hail Mary is mostly about navigating the unknown and achieving an unlikely objective. It's about finding a path forward when there's no safety net. When you're 12 light years away from Earth, no one is going to hear you scream. It's about coping with loneliness, finding friendship in the most unlikely of places, and coming to grips with the true meaning of sacrifice. It's about first contact and last rites, examining the heavy burden of being humanity's final representative in the cold dark.
Earth is dying. Not because of anything humanity did but because an anomalous stream of particles has set up shop near Venus and is siphoning off energy from the sun, gradually cooling it. This virus isn't isolated – every other star in the nearby galaxy is showing similar indications… except one. Projections are grim – perhaps 50% of Earth's population will die (mostly of starvation) within 30 years if a solution can't be found. The science-heavy setup is handled with a clarity that ensures the stakes are understood even if the physics are complex. So a group of scientists has devised Project Hail Mary – a long shot concept that will send astronauts to that far-off star to figure out how it is resisting the particles and send that information back to Earth via a probe. It's a suicide mission with a poor likelihood of success. And that's how middle school science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) finds himself a very long way from home when he awakens from a Rip Van Winkle-type induced coma and discovers that the only help he's going to get is from a stony, blocky alien he dubs Rocky (James Ortiz).
If the mission is Project Hail Mary's skeleton, the bond between Grace and Rocky is its heart. This isn't just Cast Away in space, and Rocky is a little more than an animated Wilson, but the parallels are apt. The slow, methodical process of building a shared vocabulary becomes as riveting as any high-stakes repair job. Serious sci-fi movies often address the lonely, isolated aspects of space travel – I'm thinking films like Moon and Gravity (not to mention 2001: A Space Odyssey) – but communicating with Rocky offers Grace not only a challenge but an opportunity to connect.
If there's a structural quibble to be made about Project Hail Mary, it's that this is really two equally compelling movies compressed into one and there are times when the shortcuts necessary to streamline them result in beats that aren't as forceful as they might be. On the one hand, there's the whole first contact aspect – humanity's initial interaction with an intelligent alien species. On the other hand, there's the save-the-world storyline. Both are worthy but, even with a generous 2 1/2-hour running time, there's a sense that the movie occasionally rushes through things that are deserving of a deeper exploration. It is a difficult balancing act to weigh global catastrophe against the intimacy of a two-character drama. Then again, one can understand how co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (the men behind The LEGO Movie and the Spider-Verse franchise) wanted to avoid slipping into Andrey Tarkovsky territory.
To change things up, the narrative is presented non-chronologically, starting with Grace awakening from stasis and discovering that his two experienced co-crew members are dead, then flashing back to the events that led to him being onboard the spaceship. The film follows this back-and-forth approach throughout, avoiding the trap of focusing too great a time on Grace's isolation.
The movie is Ryan Gosling and Gosling is the movie. Just as Buried relied on Ryan Reynolds, Moon fell squarely on the shoulders of Sam Rockwell, and Cast Away was all about Tom Hanks, Project Hail Mary needs Gosling in top form… and that's what Lord and Miller get. Gosling is committed – a little loopy, a little jittery, but always on point. He manages to anchor the premise with a relatable, sometimes humorous vulnerability. He's a nerd on Earth and MacGyver in space. The interactions between him and Rocky recall the Luke/Yoda scenes in The Empire Strikes Back: human actor and puppet (Ortiz not only provided Rocky's voice but also did the Frank Oz-type creature work) dispelling disbelief. Based on the trailers, I had feared that this interaction might be too cute but it's handled much better in long-form than the marketing-driven clips might indicate.
Project Hail Mary is more about the wonder of the unknown and the satisfaction of finding new friends. Star Trek famously stated: …to explore strange, new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go… Those objectives are in evidence here. There are no space battles but the central action sequence (deploying and retrieving the collector) is more exciting and fraught with tension than any ship-to-ship dogfight. Although the overall pace is unhurried, the sense of danger is always percolating and it occasionally bubbles over. This is the first film of 2026 that I have left feeling like I've experienced a movie the way it's meant to be. (Berardinelli's rating: 3.5 stars out of 4)
Labels: adventure, comedy, sci-fi
IMDb 82/100
MetaCritic (critics=77, viewers=82)
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=82, viewers=94)
Blu-ray
Berardinelli's review
Wild Mountain Thyme (2020) [PG-13] ***
A film review by Max Geo for observer.com on Dec 11, 2020.
In a year that has left the world in desperate need of a flight from reality, Wild Mountain Thyme - the long-awaited romantic comedy from Oscar, Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and director John Patrick Shanley - is a welcome, albeit unconventional, love story that will likely delight more nostalgic theatergoers than hard-bitten critics.
Set in the beauty of the lush Irish countryside, the film, which is based on Shanley’s hit Broadway play Outside Mullingar, stars Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan as two star-crossed lovers whose neighboring families are caught up in a bizarre feud over a strip of land that separates their two farms. Blunt plays Rosemary Muldoon, a passionate and headstrong farmer who has an unshakeable yearning for her off-kilter neighbor, Anthony Reilly (Dornan). Unfortunately for Rosemary, it’s an enduring love that has gone unrequited - or at least unrealized - by Anthony for nearly three decades.
Dornan’s Anthony is a far cry from his days as billionaire Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades franchise. An eccentric introvert, Anthony’s isolated upbringing in the heart of Ireland leaves him with a sense of self that is both unworldly and unmistakably human. After years of playing dark, brooding men in leading roles, Dornan is able to tap into a different, and perhaps more authentic, side of himself to shine as an endearingly awkward farmer in his mid-30s whose greatest fears - including a belief that he is inherently unlovable after a failed childhood romance - will ultimately transform his melancholic life.
After a series of flashbacks that reveal the origins of Rosemary’s independence and steadfast love for Anthony, the film begins on a rainy night after the funeral of Rosemary’s stubborn, crow-shooting father, Chris Muldoon (Don Wycherley). It is in a candid conversation about death and inheritance with his widowed father, Tony (played by the legendary Christopher Walken), and Rosemary’s newly-widowed mother, Aoife (a role reprised by original Broadway cast member Dearbhla Molloy), that Anthony discovers that he does not stand to take over the Reilly family farm. Despite his years of maintaining and modernizing the property, a blindsided Anthony later learns that his hypercritical father is planning to sell the farm out from under him to his wealthy American cousin, Adam (played by Mad Men’s Jon Hamm), who wants to find a bride and settle down in Ireland.
There is just one complication: Nearly three decades ago, Tony sold a certain strip of land to the departed Muldoon, a patch that runs right through the access route to the Reilly farm, that would make a sale - even to his naïve nephew - more difficult. It’s a plot of land that is inherited not by Chris’s widow, Aoife, but rather by his daughter, Rosemary, who has been smoking in the pouring rain while the trio chats away in the kitchen.
Despite holding a petty grudge against Anthony for pushing her down as a child, Rosemary is visibly disconcerted by the very thought of Tony handing his farm down to Anthony’s cousin. In an explosive exchange with Tony at the contested parcel, which leaves her quick-witted mother smirking with pride, the audience is given their first major clue that lying underneath Rosemary’s iron-clad exterior is a deep-rooted longing for the boy next door - and a Herculean amount of patience.
While she might not have the perfect Irish accent, a fact made abundantly clear by the Irish side of social media, Blunt’s fiery portrayal of Rosemary makes her a force of nature. In the same breath, she is able to masterfully portray the emotional agony that sends Rosemary into a deep state of exasperated desperation. While Rosemary might be a fiercely independent farmer who knows exactly what she wants, Blunt’s nuanced approach illustrates that she is still a hopeless romantic who longs for the basic human connection that has eluded the better part of the world this year.
Anyone who has ever seen a romantic comedy can predict the resolution of Wild Mountain Thyme, but it’s the anticipation - and the eventual execution - of the final showdown that makes the denouement so satisfying. From the time that we first see them standing together in the rain, Blunt and Dornan have a beautiful, natural chemistry that seems to build as tensions rise between their characters. But given that Rosemary and Anthony are both stubborn to the core, it still takes another year before they can break their ridiculous stalemate, with the help of a dark secret from Anthony that is so ludicrous that it will stop any movie know-it-all dead in their tracks.
Set in the beauty of the lush Irish countryside, the film, which is based on Shanley’s hit Broadway play Outside Mullingar, stars Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan as two star-crossed lovers whose neighboring families are caught up in a bizarre feud over a strip of land that separates their two farms. Blunt plays Rosemary Muldoon, a passionate and headstrong farmer who has an unshakeable yearning for her off-kilter neighbor, Anthony Reilly (Dornan). Unfortunately for Rosemary, it’s an enduring love that has gone unrequited - or at least unrealized - by Anthony for nearly three decades.
Dornan’s Anthony is a far cry from his days as billionaire Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades franchise. An eccentric introvert, Anthony’s isolated upbringing in the heart of Ireland leaves him with a sense of self that is both unworldly and unmistakably human. After years of playing dark, brooding men in leading roles, Dornan is able to tap into a different, and perhaps more authentic, side of himself to shine as an endearingly awkward farmer in his mid-30s whose greatest fears - including a belief that he is inherently unlovable after a failed childhood romance - will ultimately transform his melancholic life.
After a series of flashbacks that reveal the origins of Rosemary’s independence and steadfast love for Anthony, the film begins on a rainy night after the funeral of Rosemary’s stubborn, crow-shooting father, Chris Muldoon (Don Wycherley). It is in a candid conversation about death and inheritance with his widowed father, Tony (played by the legendary Christopher Walken), and Rosemary’s newly-widowed mother, Aoife (a role reprised by original Broadway cast member Dearbhla Molloy), that Anthony discovers that he does not stand to take over the Reilly family farm. Despite his years of maintaining and modernizing the property, a blindsided Anthony later learns that his hypercritical father is planning to sell the farm out from under him to his wealthy American cousin, Adam (played by Mad Men’s Jon Hamm), who wants to find a bride and settle down in Ireland.
There is just one complication: Nearly three decades ago, Tony sold a certain strip of land to the departed Muldoon, a patch that runs right through the access route to the Reilly farm, that would make a sale - even to his naïve nephew - more difficult. It’s a plot of land that is inherited not by Chris’s widow, Aoife, but rather by his daughter, Rosemary, who has been smoking in the pouring rain while the trio chats away in the kitchen.
Despite holding a petty grudge against Anthony for pushing her down as a child, Rosemary is visibly disconcerted by the very thought of Tony handing his farm down to Anthony’s cousin. In an explosive exchange with Tony at the contested parcel, which leaves her quick-witted mother smirking with pride, the audience is given their first major clue that lying underneath Rosemary’s iron-clad exterior is a deep-rooted longing for the boy next door - and a Herculean amount of patience.
While she might not have the perfect Irish accent, a fact made abundantly clear by the Irish side of social media, Blunt’s fiery portrayal of Rosemary makes her a force of nature. In the same breath, she is able to masterfully portray the emotional agony that sends Rosemary into a deep state of exasperated desperation. While Rosemary might be a fiercely independent farmer who knows exactly what she wants, Blunt’s nuanced approach illustrates that she is still a hopeless romantic who longs for the basic human connection that has eluded the better part of the world this year.
Anyone who has ever seen a romantic comedy can predict the resolution of Wild Mountain Thyme, but it’s the anticipation - and the eventual execution - of the final showdown that makes the denouement so satisfying. From the time that we first see them standing together in the rain, Blunt and Dornan have a beautiful, natural chemistry that seems to build as tensions rise between their characters. But given that Rosemary and Anthony are both stubborn to the core, it still takes another year before they can break their ridiculous stalemate, with the help of a dark secret from Anthony that is so ludicrous that it will stop any movie know-it-all dead in their tracks.
Nevertheless, it’s a year that is well-spent for Anthony, who is given the chance to reconcile with his aging father in a moving scene from cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt that highlights the complicated relationships between fathers and sons and makes the film worth watching alone. Elevated by the stunning soundtrack of composer Amelia Warner, Shanley’s screenplay seems to take on a fairy-tale charm with its colorful and lyrical dialogue, both in playful and somber scenes, but it must be said that this unique piece, much like his Oscar-winning Moonstruck, will not be everyone’s cup of tea.
While Wild Mountain Thyme might be far from a perfect depiction of the intricacies of central Ireland, it is, at its core, the fabled and beautifully shot love story of two witty and eccentric childhood sweethearts that will have the ability to warm the coldest of hearts this holiday season. [Geo's rating: 3 out of 4 stars]
Labels: comedy, drama, Emily Blunt, romance
IMDb 58/100
MetaCritic (critics=42, viewers=55)
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=46, viewers=62)
DVD
Max Geo's 3 out of 4 star review
Netflix
Thursday, May 28, 2026
Voicemails for Isabelle (2026) [TV-14] ****
A film review by Sherin Nicole for RogerEbert.com on June 19, 2026.
Grief and love can make us vulnerable; they can also open us up to new
possibilities. That’s the central theme of this Black List breakout
screenplay, now a Netflix rom-com. Starring Zoey Deutch as Jill and Nick Robinson as Wes, Voicemails for Isabelle follows Jill, an aspiring pastry
chef, in the aftermath of losing the love of her life - her little sister.
Struggling to cope, she continues to leave Izzy voicemail messages. It’s
super sweet and very You’ve Got Mail, because Jill has no idea Wes, an
Austin real estate agent, is now receiving her extremely personal audio
diaries. He’s listening in on her deep dive into the horrors of dating
in San Francisco, and he’s all in.
Written and directed by Leah McKendrick, Voicemails for Isabelle is
two love stories in one. The first is the tale of two sisters. Jill is a
fully self-actualized ‘live, laugh, love’ kind of girl. Izzy
is chronically ill with cystic fibrosis and spends most of her time
between home and the hospital. That’s why Jill is living life x 2,
experiencing the biggest feelings in the most colorful ways so Izzy can
experience them too. When Izzy dies, Jill doesn’t slow down, but she
struggles to find a connection. After a life of dating disappointments
that started on the playground, the only person she can talk to is her
sister. She keeps replaying Izzy’s messages and responding with new
ones. As the movie points out, it’s her attempt to heal, and that’s
pretty healthy.
That’s where the second love story begins. Wes is a romantically
untouchable high-dollar realtor who spends his time with his cousin Andy
(Harry Shum Jr.) and Andy’s fiancée, Breeda (McKendrick). He’s the kind
of guy who’ll utilize any edge to attain his goals - even the ethically
questionable ones. It never occurs to Wes to stop listening to Jill’s
messages or to avoid using them in getting to know her when they
meet-cute. And although we cringe at his methods, the entire thing is so
adorable we’re mostly willing to forgive him - if Jill does - and he learns
his lesson.
This is a rom-com with many themes and an acute (sometimes pink) eye for
current dating woes, social media pitfalls, and misogyny. Giving us
classic rom-com aesthetics, McKendrick balances this story line whirlwind
without it becoming overblown. A big part of that is the writing and
cast. Deutch is fierce, but also awkward and perceptive, like Jill.
Robinson’s Wes is a sweetheart, but he’s clueless with wobbly
boundaries. Adding to the charm are Nick Offerman - when is he not the
secret sauce - and the character-acting chameleon Lukas Gage. They’re a
pair of posers/chefs who despise women, allowing the movie to cut deep
into the chauvinism found in the workplace. That works well alongside
the uncertainty that reigns during times of mourning. Shum Jr. and
McKendrick are the bestest couple, seeing and saying what’s right when
Wes doesn’t. If you don’t end up quoting them, that’s on you, bro.
This is a true rom-com; we know where it’s going, but the good times are
in the roadmap to getting there. The banter sparkles with the kind of
inside jokes found in friend groups (and the writing lets us in). The
grand gestures are unexpected, while the couple’s bonding moments are
real, ridiculous, or both. Voicemails for Isabelle has a high
emotional IQ, a romantic journey you’ll want to follow, and a real sense
of the lunacy that makes life hilarious - even when we’re hurting.
McKendrick packs a lot of ingredients into this big love burrito, and
just like the best taco trucks, it works ‘cause it meets us where we’re
at with the goods. (Nicole's rating: 3 stars out of 4)
Labels: comedy, drama, romance, tragedy
IMDb 74/100
MetaCritic (critics=62, viewers=59)
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=67, viewers=90)
Netflix
Sherin Nicole's original review (3 stars out of 4)
Song Sung Blue (2025) [PG13] ****
A film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.net on Dec 18, 2025.
If you enjoy the music of Neil Diamond, then Song Sung
Blue will take you to places that not even Brother Love’s Traveling
Salvation Show can. But if the thought of hearing Sweet Caroline one more
time sounds like an act of torture, there’s nothing I can say about this
based-on-a-true-story drama that will soften the blow. It’s not about
Neil Diamond, but his music imbues the film with its energy and his songs are
omnipresent. He never makes an appearance, but his spirit hovers over the
entire production. Song Sung Blue is the (mostly) true story of
Diamond’s most devoted impersonation band, Lightning & Thunder, and when
magic happens on screen, it’s the result of the chemistry between Hugh Jackman,
Kate Hudson, and Diamond’s iconic music.
The first half of Song Sung Blue is frothy and
lighthearted, charting the romance between the two musicians - Mike Sardina,
a.k.a. Lightning (Jackman), and Claire Sardina, a.k.a. Thunder (Hudson) - which began when they first met in 1989. As their act evolves, he
morphs into Neil Diamond while she does Patsy Cline. Director Craig Brewer
gives us full renditions of a wide variety of Diamond’s greatest hits (with the
actual singer’s voice making a cameo - albeit for a Christmas song, not one of
his own melodies) as a backdrop to Mike and Claire’s deepening relationship.
They eventually marry and edge toward the cusp of stardom - opening for Pearl Jam
and singing along with Eddie Vedder on Forever in Blue Jeans - when tragedy
strikes.
The film’s second half is more grounded. The rags-to-riches
arc peters out. There are physical challenges (she’s involved in a crippling
accident, he has a heart condition) and they must cope with the public’s fickle
fascination with tribute acts. And, with most of Diamond’s best-known songs
having been showcased during the first hour, the soundtrack becomes less
pop-heavy - at least until the rousing finale. Ultimately, this structure allows
Brewer to deliver a full serving of Diamond nostalgia without strip-mining the
singer’s life story. It’s a far better approach and makes Song Sung Blue
more accessible than either A Complete Unknown or Deliver Me from Nowhere, two recent examples of biographical overreach.
Jackman's interpretation of Lightning is solid. He’s got the
singing chops and does a convincing faux-Diamond, though he has more vocal
freedom since he’s not impersonating the singer directly but rather performing
a second-generation version. But Jackman, for all his star power, can’t quite
match Kate Hudson when it comes to lumens. This is the most magical she has
been since Almost Famous, another movie about the power of music.
There’s a kinship between Penny Lane and Claire - they’re soul mates of a sort - one
still young and unformed, the other older and more weathered. The thing that
surprised me most about Hudson’s performance was how good her voice is.
Brewer’s source material for the screenplay is a
little-known 2008 documentary by Philadelphia-based filmmaker Greg Kohs, who
followed the duo on and off for about eight years, assembling footage. Kohs’ Song
Sung Blue did well on the film-festival circuit (it debuted at Slamdance)
but never gained much traction beyond that, in part because, despite their
renown in the Milwaukee area, Lightning & Thunder’s appeal never extended
much beyond regional interest. Still, when Brewer watched it, he recognized
the potential.
As with most fictionalized versions of real events, Song Sung Blue doesn’t shy away from making changes to the historical record in the service of better drama and/or showmanship. The big moments in the movie are mostly reflective of real-life events, except the ending, which invents plenty of details, but the time frame is drastically condensed. Mike and Claire were connected for 17 years, but the movie shortens that to something like three or four years. (Their kids hardly seem to age.) Such quibbles, however, only matter to those who forget the mantra for movies like this: Never let the facts get in the way of a good story. And Song Sung Blue is a good story - heartwarming, uplifting, tear-jerking, and chock full of a beautiful noise. (Berardinelli's rating: 3 stars out of 4)
Labels: biography, documentary, drama, history, musical, tragedy,
IMDb 72/100
MetaCritic (critics=61, viewers=68)
RottenTomatoes (critics=77, viewers=97)
Netflix
Blu-ray
Jame Berardinelli's review (3 stars out of 4)
Friday, May 8, 2026
Ferrari (2023) [R] ****
A film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.net on Dec. 23, 2023.
With Ferrari, Michael Mann falls afoul of one of the pitfalls of the bio-pic: by focusing too tightly on one brief period in the main character’s life, he creates an is that all there is? feeling. Although the real Enzo Ferrari was a larger-than-life individual, the movie, which focuses on events from 1957, provides only the briefest of glimpses into the life of one the 20th century’s icons, relying on dialogue to fill in some of the blanks. Although this approach is arguably preferable to an alternative – attempting to cram 50+ years into two hours – it results in viewers never really understanding Ferrari as a man. Despite a riveting portrayal by Adam Driver, he remains an inscrutable figure even after spending 130 minutes with him.
Ferrari drops us into Enzo’s life in early 1957, follows him through several months until just after the final Mille Miglia race (May 11-12), then exits with many plot threads left unresolved. It is therefore more of a snapshot than a full-fledged biography. The movie explores the business difficulties experienced by Ferrari (the company), which is drowning in red ink. Enzo, still emotionally rent by the death of his son, Dino (who died in June 1956), is involved in an increasingly difficult marriage with his wife of 34 years, Laura (Penelope Cruz), and is facing demands from his long-time mistress, Lina Lardi (Shailene Woodley), regarding his illegitimate son, Piero. While attempting to balance family issues, Enzo hires a new, hot shot driver, Alfonso De Portago (Gabriel Leone), and enters five cars into the 1000-mile cross-Italy Mille Miglia where a win would increase the company’s prestige sufficiently to allow Enzo to enter into a favorable partnership with a larger car manufacturer, such as Fiat or Ford.
Mann’s typical high-energy approach imbues Ferrari
with intensity. The racing sequences generate tension and excitement
(especially the Mille Miglia). The film is less certain when focused on more
intimate interactions, such as Enzo’s dialogues with his wife and mistress. Mann’s
zenith as a filmmaker was in the 1990s (when he made, in succession, The Last of the Mohicans, Heat, and The Insider). Since then, his films
have been largely hit-and-miss affairs and he hasn’t made anything for eight
years (2015’s Blackhat). Ferrari seems an odd choice for his
return to the spotlight but, despite occasional moments of cinematic flair, one
would never associate this with the man who spearheaded Miami Vice.
Ferrari is anchored by the strength of Driver’s performance. Partially obscured underneath effective aging makeup, he could easily be mistaken for Michael Imperioli. Driver’s portrayal presents Ferrari as a tragic figure trapped between a loveless marriage with a mentally unstable wife and an affair with the woman and child he wishes he could acknowledge. He is hyper-focused on business but not so consumed that he ignores the gravesite of his recently-deceased adult son, Dino. To the extent that we come to understand Ferrari, it’s more due to Driver’s performance than anything in the screenplay. He is ably supported by a vibrant Penelope Cruz, who enlivens the production whenever she’s on screen. The scene in which her character confronts Enzo with the truth behind her betrayal is riveting.
Ferrari may prove a difficult sale for distributors
NEON and STX Entertainment. Despite Mann’s involvement, it doesn’t have the
cache to be a prestige film and movies of this nature are typically finding
greater interest on streaming sites than in theaters. Although Driver’s
performance may earn some deserved Oscar buzz, that likely won’t be enough to
push the needle and there probably aren’t enough sports car enthusiasts to
juice the box office. As a well-acted standard-order bio-pic, Ferrari
delivers but as something more, it falls short. (Berardinelli's rating: 3 stars out of 4)
Labels: action, auto-racing, biography, drama, Ferrari, history, romance, sport, tragedy
IMDb 64/100
MetaCritic (critics=73, viewers=65)
RottenTomatoes (critics=73, viewers=73)
Blu-ray
Netflix
Berardinelli's original review (3 out of 4 stars)
Blogger's comment: While I appreciate Berardinelli's perspective, I believe this period in time was a defining moment in Ferrari's life and I appreciate the historical accuracy. The 1957 Mille Miglia was marred by the tragic death of Ferrari driver Alfonso de Portago, his navigator and nine roadside spectators, including five children, in the village of Guidizzolo when his car hit an object on the road, blew a tire, spun out and became airborne. As a result, the Italian government forever banned all racing on public roads, permanently ending the thousand mile road race.
If you are a fan of auto-racing, and you appreciate films like Grand Prix (1966), RUSH (2013), Ford v Ferrari (2019) and F1: The Movie (2025), I predict you will enjoy Ferrari.
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