House of Gucci (2021)

Title: House of Gucci

Year:  2021

Genre: Crime | Drama |

Runtime:  158 min

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring: Al Pacino, Adam Driver, Jeremy Irons

7.0/10

The film is set in 1995 and depicts the events and aftermath of the murder of Maurizio Gucci, an Italian businessman and head of the fashion house Gucci, by his ex-wife, Patrizia Reggiani. 

A FLAMBOYANT EMPTY TRAGEDY,

KILLING FOR JEALOUSY

In retrospect, the career Ridley Scott has influenced several other aspiring filmmakers doesn’t seem to be in his current position. Maybe Scott has lost his edge. The quality of his films doesn’t seem to grasp the audience like the name he used to be. He’s, after all, the one behind Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator, to name a few. He has crafted and still doing an enormous, despite his mortal age. Even with the decline that his age means, doesn’t mean he has left his prime. Not yet, but not enterally through a thoughtful eye on the big screen.

The House of Gucci positions a similar conundrum where a long-career filmmaker tries an absurd drama-comedy about a famous fashion-house that ended in despair. The prospect of the entire story may not even serve a rightful purpose, but the sensation behind it doesn’t live up to its rumoured imagery. Even if we have Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Jared Leto and Lady Gaga in the cast, it doesn’t add any sophisticated empowerment to the telling the story of the Gucci legacy. It’s contaminated with a fake Italian accent, exaggerated acting by Jared Leto and Lady Gaga and a predictable plot. This genre doesn’t feel like the rightful fit for the director as his is sci-fi, but at least he gives this mediocre tragedy an honest try.

Even if Al Pacino sells their performance, Jared Leto and Lady Gaga are entertaining but exaggerate their performance like this film would be a Greek tragedy. The chemistry between Driver and Gaga doesn’t seem eager either. Their relationship has some glamour involved with fancy stuff like Drivers Maurizio Gucci. Ironically, Patrizia Reggiani could be Lady Gaga in the real world. The drama was best performed in the end when Patrizia is exploiting Maurizio for money and their daughter, most a sign of her jealousy.

House of Gucci is a film that promises a lot, but it’s instead a fractured tragedy with a killing plot where the emotional connection to each character is lost. The emotional stake is completely gone, and it’s like a very expensive lifeless rehearsal theatre.