House of Gucci (2021) Movie Review
House of Gucci is the latest effort from director Ridley Scott, well known for making intense movies like Alien, Gladiator, Prometheus, and Thelma and Louise. House of Gucci appeared to be the perfect fit for Scott. It’s based on the true story of the murder of Maurizio Gucci, complete with family drama and high fashion.
We first meet Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) as she works for her father’s trucking business. She attends a party and bumps into Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver). Upon learning his last name Patrizia becomes interested in him and they begin a relationship. Maurizio’s family deems Patrizia unsuitable for him and when they get married he is exiled from the family. That is until his uncle, Aldo Gucci (Al Pacino), begins inviting him back into the fold. Patrizia wheels and deals their way back into the family, slyly pulling strings to position Maurizio into good favor with his family.
When Maurizio’s father, Rodolfo Gucci (Jeremy Irons) dies, Maurizio inherits half of the Gucci business. Patrizia seizes on the opportunity and begins playing chess to weed out the members of the family who are dead weight and attempting to take over their shares of the company. Along the way, Maurizio tires of her, starts an affair, and asks for a divorce. Forced out of the family and the business, Patrizia schemes to end Maurizio’s life.
While the story of the Gucci family is thrilling and full of intrigue, House of Gucci is decidedly not. The two hour and thirty-eight minute runtime drags on and on with little tension or fascination at all. Adam Driver, who I usually love, is dull and his Italian accent slips from time to time. Jared Leto, who plays the incompetent and kooky Paolo Gucci, seems like he is a caricature who doesn’t belong in this otherwise very serious movie. Lady Gaga gives a pretty solid performance although her accent wasn’t the best either. The overall problem with House of Gucci is that it takes a pretty thrilling story with campy tendencies and makes it boring and listless. The plot plods along hitting all of the markers, but there is no zest or zeal to any of the scenes.
Couple that with the fact that each actor seems to bring an entirely different tone to the movie and you see the issue. Gaga and Leto almost over perform and overcommit while Driver definitely underperforms. The varying levels of intensity lead to an inconsistent energy and tone to the movie, which causes it to just fall flat. House of Gucci had all of the ingredients to make an excellent movie. A director who has churned out intense movies, an all star cast, and an exciting story about a fashion family that imploded and ended in murder. Even the fashion element of the movie was underwhelming. The best bit was when Tom Ford (Reeve Carney) showed up briefly. Other than a fairly solid performance from Gaga, House of Gucci leaves much to be desired.
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You’re a fan of Gucci
2. You like the history of fashion houses
3. You like camp