There were a number of releases right around the holiday but, going to the theaters on the Friday after Thanksgiving, it was interesting to see which films were making waves. House of Gucci is a wildly entertaining and completely over-the-top, Game of Thrones-esque tale of one of the fashion world’s most iconic names.
An ostentatious working-class outsider marries into the Gucci family and worms her way into every aspect of the business that she can, setting off a chain of events that brings everything crashing down around her.
Ridley Scott has taken a lot of crap over this movie from the Gucci family (and plenty of other stuff recently) but, when dealing with a project this eccentric, you sort of have to be big and bold with it. The story by Becky Johnston is based on the book by Sara Gay Forden and co-written for the screen by Robert Bentivegna, so when you see “inspired by a true story” you’ll understand those creative liberties will be taken for the sake of filmmaking. However, even if none of it’s true, this is still a highly entertaining and well-executed film.
The name “Gucci” is iconic and synonymous with wealth, so a little embellishment and eccentricity are to be expected. Scott has been around the block enough to know what he has in front of him and what kind of tone to set. The story itself is pretty interesting but the film’s sense of humor and Scott’s refusal to take it too seriously is what makes it stand out. He had an excellent cast to work with and he didn’t stand in the way of them, perhaps, exaggerating the furthest edges of their character notes.
There are a number of fantastic, colorful performances from an exceptional cast and Lady Gaga is right there at the forefront of it. She plays Patrizia Reggiani, that aforementioned outsider who ingratiates herself into the family only to scheme against them in the name of her own self-interest. It’s an incredibly entertaining performance and Gaga has certainly become an adept leading lady. Her long history of performance artistry lends itself well to Patrizia and she’s the centerpiece of this film, standing out even in a world of colorful characters.
Opposite her is Adam Driver who’s just had a fantastic year and continues to establish himself as one of the most versatile actors of his generation. It’s rare to see him as shy and unbecoming, but his turn as Maurizio Gucci shows a new aspect of his range. His character is the only one with a substantial growth arc and the subtleties of his performance speak volumes against a colorful and often chaotic backdrop.
Speaking of colorful and chaotic, the supporting roles from Al Pacino and Jared Leto are even more vibrant. Pacino is incredible, as usual, playing the business king of the Gucci Empire, Aldo. Even at 81-years old, he has remarkable charisma and a commanding screen presence that sort of creates an orbit around him in every scene he’s in. I could see the studio pushing him for a Best Supporting nod.
Jared Leto might get that push as well for his portrayal of Paulo, the most eccentric and exaggerated of the family characters. Leto is clearly having a blast with the performance but that role has come under fire specifically from the Gucci family because of how cartoonish it is. Tom Ford, the former designer for Gucci who’s portrayed in the film and has become an accomplished filmmaker in his own right, didn’t think too highly of either of those performances but admitted to laughing out loud, which was kinda the point with both of them if you take a step back from his personal connection to the story.
Jeremy Irons and Salma Hayek round out the principal cast with strong supporting performances as well. Irons is a fantastic actor and this role was almost tailor-made for him, playing one half of the Gucci power structure, Maurizio’s father Rodolfo. I would have liked more him because his personal style and menacing charm work really well here. Hayek plays Pina, a fortune-teller who’s enlisted by Patrizia to help her on her quest for power, and helps provide a level of intimacy for Patrizia that she doesn’t show to the family. Hayek’s portrayal does include a sense of humor that she’s really put on display in recent years, but it’s much more subtle than some of the other roles.
When tackling a name like Gucci, the wardrobes and the looks had to live up to that, and Janty Yates delivered with a wide variety of styles that ranged from classic to ridiculous. The entire production design from Arthur Max has a very pointed direction and the style definitely fits the bill.
The film does clock in at a lengthy 2h 38m and it does feel long, especially towards the end of the second act. It’s entertaining and interesting the whole way, but it was just surprisingly long.
It’s easy to see that House of Gucci is one of the better films of 2021, but it’s a little more difficult to determine exactly where it fits into the hierarchy.
Recommendation: Go for the name, stay for the performances, the fashion, and the many layers of intriguing family dysfunction.