‘House of Gucci’ Film Review
by Will Lindus
We love a good scandal. When it comes to salacious headlines warped into cinematic entertainment, we want our characters bold, our adultery scandalous, our murders over the top, and our criminals complex yet flawed. The story of Patrizia Reggiani, who married into the Gucci family and allowed her ambitions to demolish their legacy before succumbing to a revenge fantasy with a fatal finale is ripe for such a rehashing, so it should come as no surprise that director Ridley Scott chose an adaptation of novel House of Gucci as one of this two directorial projects in 2021 (the other being The Last Duel).
Unfortunately, House of Gucci suffers from large tonal issues which make it unsuccessful as a grimy crime story, a bombastic character story, or a wacky dark comedy, though it attempts to wear the trappings of each. In presentation, it sticks mostly to the former, telling the story of a family’s legacy through muted hues, fashion and decadence worn as a facade over hollow humans maneuvering to position themselves above their kin. Despite being the most paper-thin of the lead characters, Maurizio Gucci most captures this tone, a complex character seeking distance from his family before being lured into the trap of Patrizia, and not realizing until it is far too late just how far from grace he has fallen. His intentions begin pure but warp over time, until nothing is left of the Maurizio we see at the beginning of the film. Adam Driver plays the part reservedly, which would be the correct choice for a different film.
Driver is upstaged by Lady Gaga, who carries the most narrative weight as Patrizia Reggiani, and it is through her lens and her machinations that the majority of the story evolves. The film may be titled House of Gucci, but this is the story about how Reggiani gains power over the House, positions herself at its lead, and almost leads to its downfall. To her credit, Lady Gaga attacks every scene she is in with vigor, creating a tapestry of a character who is tragic in her ambitions and believable despite the unrelatable life she lives.
And then there is Jared Leto. It’s hard to find a more diplomatic way to say this, so I won’t bother: Jared Leto is the worst part of House of Gucci, and the sheer volume of screen time that he absorbs as Gucci family member Paolo Gucci actively harms the film. Leto plays the role with a slapstick energy that long overstays it’s welcome, with jokes in need of punchlines and punchlines in need of polish, all edited in a way to make these beats stretch on past the point where you’d wish someone would call cut. Leto plays the role in heavy prosthetics, and I can’t imagine what purpose Ridley Scott and his team were hoping to accomplish with this casting. If I’m being generous, I can see the twinkle of something almost Andy Kaufman / Tony Clifton-esque in what Leto is going for, but in a way that feels like an imitation instead of an inspiration.
Bottom Line: House of Gucci is a tangled mess of a film that struggles to find its identity by cobbling together mismatched styles, never building something greater than its parts. While this might be an appropriate metaphor for the Gucci brand as it struggled to find its identity during the era of Reggiani, this bizarre amalgamation of styles doesn’t feel deliberate. As far as ‘ripped from the headlines crime biopics go,’ this one feels less couture and more like something you’d find on the bargain rack.
2 out of 5 Bear Paws