When I heard that “House of Gucci” was hitting our local theater, I really wasn’t that interested.
Well, that all changed the moment I heard Lady Gaga utter her improvised “Father, Son, House of Gucci” line while making the sign of the cross in front of herself during the trailer.
Such a quote and gesture were blatantly blasphemous, egocentric, and simultaneously iconic – in all the ways Gucci itself was famous for being.
And that’s not just the fashion house brand, either – the family was infamous in its excess and treachery.
Plus, I’ve been an avid fan of Gaga’s music for years.
Naturally, that also motivated me just a little more to catch the movie over the weekend.
I’m really fond of the costuming and scenery for this film, but the storyline seemed to drag and bounce around without a clear timeline until a character said what year they were in.
House of Gucci is a 2021 biographical crime drama film directed by Ridley Scott, based on the 2001 book, The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden.
The film stars Lady Gaga, Adam Driver with Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek, and Al Pacino.
Scott wanted to make a film about the Gucci dynasty after acquiring rights to Forden’s book in the early 2000s.
Originally, the project languished for several years, with a number of directors and rumored actors being considered before Scott and Gaga became officially attached in November 2019.
The film is rated R for language, some sexual content, and brief nudity, and violence and is 157 minutes long.
In 1978, Patrizia Reggiani (Gaga) is a young, attractive Italian woman working as an office manager within her father’s small trucking firm.
At a party, Patrizia meets Maurizio Gucci (Driver), a law student and heir to a 50% interest in the Gucci fashion house through his father Rodolfo (Irons).
Patrizia aggressively pursues the awkward Maurizio, charming him into love.
Rodolfo warns Maurizio that Patrizia is only after wealth and tells Maurizio that he will disinherit him if he marries Patrizia; Maurizio chooses Patrizia over his connection to Gucci, leaving the family.
Patrizia and Maurizio marry, and Maurizio takes a job at the Reggiani trucking company.
When Patrizia becomes pregnant, she sees her child as an avenue for familial reconciliation.
She lets it slip to Maurizio’s uncle Aldo (Pacino) that she is pregnant; Aldo is delighted by the news and takes the couple under his wing.
Aldo introduces Patrizia to his unintelligent son Paolo (Leto), who aspires to be a designer within Gucci despite his lack of talent.
Thanks to Aldo, Maurizio, and a terminally ill Rodolfo reconcile shortly before the latter’s death.
Rodolfo writes Maurizio back into his will but fails to sign a document transferring the Gucci shares to him before he dies.
And that’s when things start to really take a darker turn for the Gucci family.
To be honest, the film’s decadence and beauty can be better appreciated on the big screen, but, I think it can also wait to be enjoyed at home – up to you!
