House of Gucci is a movie based on the scandal that ended Gucci. It was produced by Ridley Scott, Giannina Facio, Kevin J. Walsh, and Mark Huffam, Directed by Ridley Scott, and stars Lady Gaga and Adam Driver. Most of the sets are in Milan, Italy and Switzerland. Looking at the people and places involved, the House of Gucci should have been in decent hands.
However, House of Gucci was disappointing. Recounting the murder that ended Gucci’s family-owned status, this movie could be much improved. The movie wasn’t completely futile, but it lacked dynamics in most departments; inversely, the scope and pacing were chaotic.
The movie opens with who should be the main focus, Patrizia Reggiani. She’s a diva and a psycho, no exceptions. Patrizia first sees Maurizio Gucci awkwardly standing behind a bar at a party. Clearly gold-digging, Patrizia makes sure that after the party, they ‘accidentally’ meet again. The awkward tone quickly spirals into toxic relationships. If you are old enough to remember the Gucci scandal, you know that the kicker was the assassination, but the movie decides to focus less on the motive, means, and effects of the murder and more on the other personal affairs. Focusing on what might be the unseen parts of the scandal is not misguided, but the lack of detail specifically leading to the murder makes the movie feel incohesive.
Aside from the faults of the story, the acting and setup were also shaky at best. The interactions between characters were almost exclusively between two people at a time and the conversation often led no farther than when it started. Both Lady Gaga and Adam Driver (Patrizia and Maurizio, respectively) occasionally had slips in their Italian accents, distracting me from the subject of their isolated talks.
However, the sets were the best quality of the movie, having varied sets of extravagant nature that properly represented the regal image of wealthy life and the dumpy image of a less fortunate life. The sound and picture were both on par for a movie that does not need great immersion. The use of filters to make scenes look vintage was acceptable because the transitions were stable, otherwise, some of them could have been omitted. Other artistic choices for scenes were also needless such as the attempted comedic relief shenanigans. (I enjoyed the comedy but that is probably much more subjective).
Overall the storytelling was poor and nothing was able to make up for it. House of Gucci is only in theaters and rated R for the sexual content (which made me laugh because it was awkward). The highly anticipated movie might be boring for most but if you have an interest in the Gucci scandal, it is certainly worth it.
