HOUSE OF GUCCI
***
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenwriters: Becky Johnston and Robert Bentivegna, from a story by Johnston based on the book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour and Greed by Sara Gay Forden.
Principal cast:
Lady Gaga
Adam Driver
Al Pacino
Jeremy Irons
Jared Leto
Salma Hayek
Country: Canada/USA
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 158 mins.
Australian release date: 1 January 2022.
Compared to his 2017 title All the Money in the World, Ridley Scott has adopted a very different tone for his latest film about an infamous Italian crime. The earlier movie examined the kidnapping of millionaire John Paul Getty’s grandson in Rome in 1973, while the latest, House of Gucci, looks at the murder of Maurizio Gucci, of the eponymous fashion house, in Milan in 1995. The former took a straightforward approach to its grim subject but, this time, Scott has heightened his portrayal of the people and events leading up to the crime. It’s almost as though he felt the bizarre, true-crime story needed embellishment – it didn’t.
When the cultivated Maurizio (Adam Driver, in excellent form) met the well-off but working class Patrizia Reggiani (a terrific Lady Gaga) at a party in 1978, it was hardly love at first sight for him. Patrizia, though, had spotted a prize catch and pursued the hapless Gucci heir until he fell for her and they married. At the time, he wasn’t interested in working for the family company; he was studying law and intended to practice upon graduation. His father, Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons), loves him but has pegged Patrizia for a gold-digger and disapproves of the marriage, although Rodolfo’s brother and partner in the firm, Aldo (Al Pacino), sees that Patrizia has the smarts and takes a shine to her. When she falls pregnant, Patrizia connives to use the unborn child as a means of inveigling Maurizio back into his father’s affections and succeeds. When the old man dies not long after, Maurizio inherits his 50% holding in the company, the other shares being held by Aldo and his son, Paolo (Jared Leto). Patrizia isn’t content with merely half the business, however, and she connives with Maurizio to acquire the remaining 50%. For a time, their schemes bear fruit but, as they do, the scales start to fall from Maurizio’s eyes and he sees Patrizia as she really is and he seeks the company of an old friend, Paola Franchi (Camille Cottin). When he eventually asks for a divorce, his wife is consumed with rage and asks her fortune-telling mate Pina (Salma Hayek) to arrange a meeting with a pair of Sicilian hitmen. From then on, Maurizio’s days are numbered.
House of Gucci is a fascinating tale of greed and revenge that is positively Shakespearean in its scrutiny of the fortunes, foibles and flaws of human beings when tempted by money and power. Gaga and Driver are very good as the two leads and serve the plot well (Gaga’s Patrizia is “a real firecracker”, as Paolo puts it). Pacino, Irons and Leto, on the other hand, play it well over the top, presumably at Scott’s instruction - which is not say their performances aren’t highly entertaining. Some of this larger-than-life effect could be due to the director’s decision to have everyone speak with fake Italian accents and it’s tempting to think that the actors would have appeared less melodramatic without them. According to the remaining real Gucci family members, “the narrative is anything but accurate, depicting Aldo Gucci - president of the company for 30 years - and other members of the Gucci family who were the protagonists of well-documented events, as hooligans, ignorant and insensitive to the world around them.” Needless to say, another star of House of Gucci is the costume design. The clothes are crucial to the overall look of the film and they cover a period of three decades, so there’s a lot to look at. Gaga really knows how to show the female fashions off but even she is almost upstaged by some of the men’s garments. Paolo’s clothes, in particular, are truly quirky.
This is the story of the fall of a dynasty and it’s interesting to note that no Gucci family members remain at the company. Indeed, it’s the demise of the family that is as of much interest as the build up to the murder. It’s too long and it flags at times but House of Gucci is quite a yarn.
Screenwriters: Becky Johnston and Robert Bentivegna, from a story by Johnston based on the book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour and Greed by Sara Gay Forden.
Principal cast:
Lady Gaga
Adam Driver
Al Pacino
Jeremy Irons
Jared Leto
Salma Hayek
Country: Canada/USA
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 158 mins.
Australian release date: 1 January 2022.
Compared to his 2017 title All the Money in the World, Ridley Scott has adopted a very different tone for his latest film about an infamous Italian crime. The earlier movie examined the kidnapping of millionaire John Paul Getty’s grandson in Rome in 1973, while the latest, House of Gucci, looks at the murder of Maurizio Gucci, of the eponymous fashion house, in Milan in 1995. The former took a straightforward approach to its grim subject but, this time, Scott has heightened his portrayal of the people and events leading up to the crime. It’s almost as though he felt the bizarre, true-crime story needed embellishment – it didn’t.
When the cultivated Maurizio (Adam Driver, in excellent form) met the well-off but working class Patrizia Reggiani (a terrific Lady Gaga) at a party in 1978, it was hardly love at first sight for him. Patrizia, though, had spotted a prize catch and pursued the hapless Gucci heir until he fell for her and they married. At the time, he wasn’t interested in working for the family company; he was studying law and intended to practice upon graduation. His father, Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons), loves him but has pegged Patrizia for a gold-digger and disapproves of the marriage, although Rodolfo’s brother and partner in the firm, Aldo (Al Pacino), sees that Patrizia has the smarts and takes a shine to her. When she falls pregnant, Patrizia connives to use the unborn child as a means of inveigling Maurizio back into his father’s affections and succeeds. When the old man dies not long after, Maurizio inherits his 50% holding in the company, the other shares being held by Aldo and his son, Paolo (Jared Leto). Patrizia isn’t content with merely half the business, however, and she connives with Maurizio to acquire the remaining 50%. For a time, their schemes bear fruit but, as they do, the scales start to fall from Maurizio’s eyes and he sees Patrizia as she really is and he seeks the company of an old friend, Paola Franchi (Camille Cottin). When he eventually asks for a divorce, his wife is consumed with rage and asks her fortune-telling mate Pina (Salma Hayek) to arrange a meeting with a pair of Sicilian hitmen. From then on, Maurizio’s days are numbered.
House of Gucci is a fascinating tale of greed and revenge that is positively Shakespearean in its scrutiny of the fortunes, foibles and flaws of human beings when tempted by money and power. Gaga and Driver are very good as the two leads and serve the plot well (Gaga’s Patrizia is “a real firecracker”, as Paolo puts it). Pacino, Irons and Leto, on the other hand, play it well over the top, presumably at Scott’s instruction - which is not say their performances aren’t highly entertaining. Some of this larger-than-life effect could be due to the director’s decision to have everyone speak with fake Italian accents and it’s tempting to think that the actors would have appeared less melodramatic without them. According to the remaining real Gucci family members, “the narrative is anything but accurate, depicting Aldo Gucci - president of the company for 30 years - and other members of the Gucci family who were the protagonists of well-documented events, as hooligans, ignorant and insensitive to the world around them.” Needless to say, another star of House of Gucci is the costume design. The clothes are crucial to the overall look of the film and they cover a period of three decades, so there’s a lot to look at. Gaga really knows how to show the female fashions off but even she is almost upstaged by some of the men’s garments. Paolo’s clothes, in particular, are truly quirky.
This is the story of the fall of a dynasty and it’s interesting to note that no Gucci family members remain at the company. Indeed, it’s the demise of the family that is as of much interest as the build up to the murder. It’s too long and it flags at times but House of Gucci is quite a yarn.