House of Gucci Review
★★★☆☆ Ridley Scott’s accent-heavy true crime saga is big on performances but disappointingly light on chic.
A quick rebound following the commercial disappointment of the otherwise ace The Last Duel, Ridley Scott returns with a dramatic retelling of one of the fashion world’s most shocking scandals. House of Gucci delivers big on performances (both good and bad) but is disappointingly light on chic and historical truth.
Focusing on the marriage that ended the prestigious fashion house as a family business, House of Gucci chronicles the relationship between Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) and the heir to the Gucci throne, the mild-mannered Maurizio (Adam Driver).
Meeting during the disco heyday of the late seventies (the two actually married much earlier in real life), a whirlwind romance soon turns to calculated ambition as the driven Patrizia attempts to secure her position as the matriarch of the family, a decade-long power play that ultimately ends in heartbreak and tragedy.
Ridley Scott can make this kind of movie in this sleep. Similar in style and execution to his other modern historical dramas, American Gangster and 2017’s All the Money in the World, Scott delivers an assured albeit workmanlike effort. It’s simple, effective filmmaking. Perfectly entertaining but lacking in decadence and style you’d expect considering the subject matter.
Maybe that doesn’t matter when you have Lady Gaga as your leading lady. Gaga carries much of the film, note-perfect as the seductive and ruthlessly ambitious Reggiani, easily holding her own in scenes also featuring acting powerhouses Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons. It’s another superb performance from the singer-songwriter whose seamless transition into acting roles begs the question: is there anything she can’t do at this point?
Also of note is Adam Driver, once again demonstrating considerable chops with a dynamic performance that takes Maurizio Gucci from shy and uninterested outsider to cold and callous fashion magnate. Like Gaga, Pacino and Irons, Driver is excellent when it comes to disappearing into a role, the chameleonic actor having now convincingly played an Italian heir here, a Portuguese priest in Martin Scorsese’s Silence, and a French squire in the aforementioned The Last Duel.
Jared Leto is less convincing, donning a bald cap, wig, fat suit and horrific accent as the hapless Paolo Gucci. A far cry from his deserved Oscar win for Dallas Buyers Club in 2013, Leto stinks up the joint once again with an over-the-top performance that threatens to derail the movie on multiple occasions. It’s not funny; It’s an embarrassing example of over-exertion, the motion picture equivalent to a boozed-up uncle at a wedding.
Originally published at https://michaelkenny.uk on June 5, 2023.
Thanks for reading! If you liked this, please hit the clap button and follow me for more thoughts on film. I try to post at least one new review per day.
You can also find me on Letterboxd where I try to keep up with the kids and their witty meme reviews. You know the kind.
