When the underrated (and gorgeous-looking) BLACKHAT bombed miserably this year ($17 mil worldwide on a $70 mil pre-P&A budget), I was worried that it would be the last major studio film we’d see from the 72-year-old writer-director. A dearth of his type of mid-budget action-dramas in the current studio slates compounded with the very public failure of his ambitious HBO series, LUCK, made it seem that the contemporary marketplace had no more room for Mann’s patented mix of sincere brotitude and cold, hard action.
But here’s his former Melvin Purvis coming to the rescue.
Christian Bale’s agreed to play Enzo Ferrari in a Mann-helmed biopic of the legendary automobile magnate. The film will take place in 1957, when Enzo was 59 and was charged with manslaugher after racecar driver Alfonso de Portago blew a tire and crashed his Ferrari, killing himself, his passenger, and nine bystanders. It came smack-dab in the middle of a victory streak of Ferraris taking first-place at both Le Mans and Formula One races, and continued to cause legal troubles for Ferrari until the case was dismissed in 1961.
It seems like the kind of story that mixes bravado and testosterone with the emotional and human repercussions of pushing those things to far, which is Mann’s bread-and-butter. He’s been working on the project for about 15 years now, once partnered up with the late Sydney Pollack, but with Bale onboard, it seems like it’s full-steam-ahead (or engines ready, if you will) for this one. I thought Bale’s work in PUBLIC ENEMIES was overlooked and subtle compared to Depp’s showy, grandstanding Dillinger, and he’s thoroughly capable of the intensity levels and DEEP, MEANINGFUL EYE CONTACT that Mann’s known for.
Not to get gushy here, but Mann’s one of my favorite directors, and Bale’s one of my favorite actors, so even if PUBLIC ENEMIES isn’t in my top-five of either of their work, I’m quite elated that they’ll be working together again, particularly on this type of “guy flick”.
Plus, I’m sure them getting to hang around and drive a whole bunch of Ferraris sweetened the deal for everyone involved.
And don’t forget, Mann’s COLLATERAL star Tom Cruise (whom I know some of you will agree was at his absolute best in that film) has got his Jospeh Kosinski-directed biopic of Ferrari’s rival, Henry Ford II, still in development.
