“House of Gucci” Review
Lady Gaga stars as Patrizia Reggiani, who marries into the Gucci family and leads a fight for the future of the family in “House of Gucci.”
The past few months have been exploding with biopics starring major actors including “King Richard” with Will Smith and “Spencer” with Kristen Stewart. While many of the characters in “House of Gucci” might not be as well known, the legacy of the Gucci name is certainly famous. After seeing trailers for “House of Gucci,” which promised an all-star cast helmed by Ridley Scott, it’s safe to say that a lot of people will like this film. Like, but not love. Because while “House of Gucci” is certainly entertaining, there’s not a whole lot of lasting power to the film.
In the 1970s, the name Gucci commands respect and reverence from the fashion community while the family itself squabbles amongst each other for control of the fashion empire. One member of the family, Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), wants nothing to do with them, especially when he marries the working class Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga). But as the couple become more involved with the Gucci name, a struggle for power amongst the family accumulates into fights, affairs and murder.
If you were excited to see the film after watching the trailers and seeing that Driver, Gaga, Jeremy Irons, Jared Leto, Salma Hayek and Al Pacino would star, then you will probably enjoy the film as I did. All of these actors are fantastic with Adam Driver delivering a particularly compelling performance. After her breakout role in “A Star is Born,” Lady Gaga is amazing as Patrizia and I can’t wait to see where her career continues to go.
Both Driver and Gaga start out the film pure and wanting to make their own way, but they become intoxicated by the Gucci brand and devolve into despicable characters. Like Adam and Eve, they had a chance at paradise and blew it.
(From Left) Adam Driver, Lady Gaga and Al Pacino star in “House of Gucci” as Marizio Gucci, Patrizia Reggiani and Aldo Gucci respectively as each of them tries to rule the family’s fashion empire.
Out of all the supporting roles, Al Pacino easily steals the show as Aldo Gucci who tries to hang on to his control of Gucci. I have loved Al Pacino’s recent resurgence in popular films like “The Irishman” and “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” and his performance is incredibly entertaining.
Like “The Irishman” and “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood,” this long film (two hours and 38 minutes) is remarkably well paced. I was never once bored and found myself, like the characters, engulfed in this world of glamour. But “House of Gucci” isn’t too sure of whether it wants to be a serious drama or have more of a comedic edge.
Instead the film wanders from one to the other which results in a totally confused story. I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or gasp so I ended up doing neither.
Like his earlier film of 2021, “The Last Duel,” director Ridley Scott does a remarkable job of creating such a layered and decadent environment. But I found that his lack of focusing on a character made it hard to understand whose point of view the film is from. If it’s from Patrizia, why is she off screen for an extended period of time? If it’s about the family, how come it only focuses on just a few of them? Choices like these don’t exactly hurt the film, because I still enjoyed it, but they do hinder it’s chances of being one of 2021’s best films.
“House of Gucci” may not be the strongest film of 2021, but it certainly excels in acting and replicating the atmosphere of fashion. If an entertaining drama starring Lady Gaga is what you’re looking for, then you should have a good time seeing this in the theater.
