by John Zenoni
Oh man, what can I say and where do l start about ‘House of Gucci’ by director Ridley Scott? The film stars a string of major players including Al Pacino, Jared Leto, Adam Driver, Selma Hayek, Jeremy Irons and last, but not least, Lady Gaga.
Ok, first of all, unless you've been living under a rock for the last 50 years and even if you don’t follow the fashion industry, you most certainly have heard of the brand dynasty known as Gucci. This is an empire that, as of 2021, was valued at approximately 15.6 billion U.S. dollars. In comparison, the brand's valuation was 10.19 billion U.S. dollars in 2019, so it has only increased in revenue with time.
Next, is the story. The film is based on the real life romance and eventual marriage of Patrizia Reggiani (portrayed by Lady Gaga) to Maurizio Gucci (portrayed by Adam Driver). Eventually, Reggiani will be arrested for hiring a hitman to murder the Gucci heir. I didn't know that this had happened in real life so it was intriguing to find out that this really took place. The plus side of the story is that it starts off strong and doesn't waste time on the courtship between Gaga’s and Driver’s characters. The chemistry between Gaga and Driver works very well so this isn't a problem. One thing I wasn't clear on was if Gaga’s Reggiani knew immediately who Gucci was when they first met or if she only found out later on as they were dating. Either way, you feel that they truly love each other, so you're excited for them.
However, once you meet Gucci’s father, Rodolfo Gucci, you know this isn't going to bode well as he knows that most women are only after his son for his fortune. Maurizio is willing to give up all that for Reggiani, though, asks her to marry him, and she accepts. However, she doesn't want him to make that sacrifice and eventually her greed begins to shine through. And the family drama begins. This is where the story goes from high-class drama to almost camp! It really is a combination of what I feel like is an Oscar-worthy film one minute then an episode of the television series, ‘Dynasty’ the next! But you know what? I loved it! The backstabbing, fashion, fancy cars, drama, murder - I mean, what else can you ask you for in a film? Well, that will come a bit later.
On to the performances, which are outstanding (and crazy)! I didn't realize that two former Oscar winners were in key roles in this film, portraying the Gucci brothers, Aldo (Pacino) and Rodolfo (Irons). Both are legends to me so it really takes a lot for them to mess up in anything that they do. And they played the heck out of their latest roles. Irons didn't have as much screen time but he was great nonetheless. Adam Driver, who I'm just not a huge fan of for some reason, still did a very good job in his role as Maurizo Gucci. The only thing I guess I could fault him on is - and this is more his character than him - that he switched from being a loving, caring husband and father, wanting nothing to do with the family business (he was studying to be a lawyer), to turning into a vicious, money-hungry boss with no feelings. And this was done without any insight or detail, in my opinion.
Another performance I really got into - and I would almost love to see this character in a film just based on her - is Selma Hayek as Pina Auriemma, who was a clairvoyant friend of Gaga’s character, Reggiani. She's behind the hit which takes place on Gucci later on in the film. Now, I'm going to talk about Lady Gaga and her performance next, instead of Jared Leto, and there is a reason for that. Lady Gaga has definitely proven she is an actor (and a good one) with her performance in this film. She is definitely over-the-top in her role and it's almost as if she was born to play this character. The way she uses her facial expressions and body language, and not just dialogue, captures the essence of this money and power-hungry heiress. She definitely deserves her award recognition for her role.
But honestly, in my opinion, the actor who steals the show in this film is Jared Leto! Oh wow! Kudos to him for taking on this role! First of all, he's totally unrecognizable and it didn't hit me until a little bit on into the film that I remembered he was in it. And I could not believe it was him! But he's so good and definitely deserves the recognition that he's getting. He was so under-appreciated, in my opinion, for his crazy and outstanding performance as The Joker in 'Suicide Squad' so I'm glad to see him get this recognition.
The next best thing about the film is the soundtrack! It's absolutely amazing and has some of the great disco hits of the late 70’s that work so well in the sequences in which they are played. I can only imagine how much had to be paid out in royalties and rights to secure the approval to play them in the film. But it definitely helps capture the essence of the time, and the song played at the end with Pavarotti - ugh, what a heartbreaker. And yet perfect for the ending.
One downfall of the film is the length. While I did enjoy it, as you can gather from my review, it was 2 hours and 39 minutes long - which was just a little too much. There definitely could have been some editing done with this one. The other issue is one that also works in favor of a movie, in my opinion, but could be seen as a negative and that is the ‘campiness’. I use that term again as that is really the only way to describe it. But it didn't bother me as much as I'm sure it will others.
Definitely a film that deserves to be noticed and will be - for good and bad reasons!
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