House of Gucci

House of Gucci is a movie full of famous actors. Lady Gaga is a convincing Patrizia Reggiani, an Italian girl from the Province of Modena who wanted to achieve more in life. Hunting for a potential rich man she goes to parties and at one of these she meets Maurizio Gucci (portrayed by Adam Driver).

The story of Patrizia and Maurizio Gucci, their rise and fall, the dynamics of manipulation, betrayal at the cost of trust around this family and its business is well set, though evolves a bit slow. The best performance in the movie by far though was by Jared Leto as Paolo Gucci, Maurizo's cousin.

Overall, it is an entertaining movie portraying a story about a family, about a brand and a tragedy. Recommended to everyone who wants to look behind the curtain of the myth behind a world-known brand and its drama.

House of Gucci is a new crime drama directed by Ridley Scott, the director of Gladiator and Alien.

The film is inspired by true events surrounding the family behind the Italian fashion house Gucci. When Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) begins a relationship with the outsider Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), he is disinherited by his father Rodolfo Gucci (Jeremy Irons). He suspects that Patrizia is behind Maurizio's family money. That's how the two have to make it without the support of the Gucci family. Years later, the two are married and have a child together. Maurizio's uncle Aldo Gucci (Al Pacino) thus contacts him again and brings him back into the family business. The Gucci fashion house is once again going under multiple names, leading to creative differences, exposing betrayal, revenge and even murder cases.

There have been many changes in the making of this film. Martin Scorsese, for example, could have directed the film at first, but Ridley Scott was eventually given a directing position. Together with the casting directors, he also had many ideas for the casting of the roles before they finally came to the chosen actors and actresses.

After the many changes in casting and direction, they probably should have looked back at the writing crew of the film, because the final script was written by more novice writers, which can sometimes be seen in the film. The story can sometimes seem a bit messy and so long-winded, because the story makes many jumps in time. Some relationships come across as rushed, which can cause some loss of credibility.

What comes out best in the film about a well-known fashion brand is therefore the costumes and make-up of the characters. Janty Yates can expect film award nominations for this. Still, the film has received complaints from actual members of the Gucci family that the relatives were better dressed in real life compared to the actors in the film. They also credibly convey the places where the story takes place.

Al Pacino comes out the best of the film cast and knows how to provide the best and most believable accent compared to the entire cast. Lady Gaga and Adam Driver have good chemistry together in the film, but their relationship sometimes comes across as weak. Patrizia is clearly showing signs that she is more behind the Gucci family's money than she really loves Maurizio. Their accents can also come across as a bit unusual. Lady Gaga has more of an Eastern European accent than real Italian. Her characters seem to come more from Russia in some scenes. Of the entire cast, Salma Hayek is the only one who has received help with speaking in the correct accent. This is probably because she is married to the man who now owns the Gucci brand. If they had helped the entire cast a little more with their accents in the film, they would have come across a bit more like people from the same country. Who even seems to play in a completely different film is Jared Leto, because in the film he wears a fattening costume and also has a strange shaved hair style. In the film, he comes across as too exaggerated compared to the rest and speaks excessively in a high-pitched voice. He sometimes sounds just like the video game character Mario.

House of Gucci is probably the most stylish film of 2021, it looked awesome, this was beautifully made, the quality of production and direction is phenomenal. It isn't just style over substance though, it's well made, generally well acted, it tells a fascinating and twisted story.

The main issue about this film for me, was the pacing, it was somewhat uneven, at times it felt frustratingly slow, fortunately it did pick up at its conclusion. The running time was overlong, what is it with films in 2021? Why the need for everything to be almost three hours? Is there some deal for cost per minute at cinemas? Ninety minute films work too.

If you ever think your family has problems, just watch this, and you'll see what family problems really are. Scandal, betrayal and murder, it's a rags to riches story with a twist.

The acting, for the most part I thought it was great, Jeremy Irons was the standout for me, as he so often is, but Lady Gaga was awesome as Patrizia, she did a great job. Adam Driver on the other hand, I'm not sure why, but I felt as though he was a little uninterested, perhaps a little bored?

6/10.

A film so out of its mind that it is operating entirely on impulses, House of Gucci makes for a wild, inconsistent & unabashedly over-the-top biographical crime drama that chronicles the downfall of the Gucci family dynasty without any intent or interest and is surprisingly fuelled by absolutely unhinged performances, each functioning on a separate wavelength and pointed in a different direction.

Directed by Ridley Scott, this tonal nightmare plays out like an (un)intentional parody of the Oscar-bait biopics and is far from the quality of work we expect from the filmmaker at helm. All its elements are at odds with each other, thus resulting in a film so bonkers & unpredictable in its approach & execution that it actually piques the curiosity in a way that's not just unusual or unexpected but also nonsensical.

However, a story treatment this uneven & erratic can only carry on for a while before the appeal goes away and this one goes on for 157 long minutes, all of which is tediously paced. The characters themselves are mere caricatures and the ensemble cast is given the license to render them as such. But none of the actors are ever on the same level or looking for any kind of harmony even when sharing screen together.

Overall, House of Gucci is inarguably the "so bad it's good" film of the year. Laced with irony, drowning in decadence and incongruous in each n every aspect, this overlong & overbearing train-wreck suffers from issues of its own makings and despite boasting an A-list ensemble, it doesn't utilise a shred of their talents. Inadvertently hilarious & downright mediocre, Ridley Scott's latest is what happens when the entire cast n crew is left unsupervised & goes amok.

"House of Gucci" is a beautifully shot picture with great people involved. It is somewhat underwhelming and a tad too long, but there are great moments sprinkled throughout the movie.

The film is based on the real murder of Maurizio Gucci and the downfall of the Gucci family. It all begins when Patrizia Reggiani marries into the Gucci family and the rest is history.

Lady Gaga is great as the ambitious Patrizia Reggiani but she is also inconsistent with her performance. Pacino, Driver and Leto are good per usual. It is however a daring choice by the filmmakers to have the actors speak in English with an Italian accent. It is not a huge problem, but it does occasionally take the viewer out of the experience.

The first forty minutes of the movie are great. The characters are well introduced, and the plot is intriguing. The rest of the movie does not maintain this standard. The last 30 minutes are beyond underwhelming and the climax is cold and emotionless.

There are issues with "House of Gucci" but the production design is not one of them. The film is beautifully shot and the locations look great. "House of Gucci" is very stylish and the costume department really outdid themselves.

With everything said, "House of Gucci" is a decent film with outstanding visuals and great acting. If you like fashion, then you should give this movie a watch. It is beautiful and quite enjoyable despite its excessive runtime.