House of Gucci is a new crime drama directed by Ridley Scott, the director of Gladiator and Alien.
The film is inspired by true events surrounding the family behind the Italian fashion house Gucci. When Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) begins a relationship with the outsider Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), he is disinherited by his father Rodolfo Gucci (Jeremy Irons). He suspects that Patrizia is behind Maurizio's family money. That's how the two have to make it without the support of the Gucci family. Years later, the two are married and have a child together. Maurizio's uncle Aldo Gucci (Al Pacino) thus contacts him again and brings him back into the family business. The Gucci fashion house is once again going under multiple names, leading to creative differences, exposing betrayal, revenge and even murder cases.
There have been many changes in the making of this film. Martin Scorsese, for example, could have directed the film at first, but Ridley Scott was eventually given a directing position. Together with the casting directors, he also had many ideas for the casting of the roles before they finally came to the chosen actors and actresses.
After the many changes in casting and direction, they probably should have looked back at the writing crew of the film, because the final script was written by more novice writers, which can sometimes be seen in the film. The story can sometimes seem a bit messy and so long-winded, because the story makes many jumps in time. Some relationships come across as rushed, which can cause some loss of credibility.
What comes out best in the film about a well-known fashion brand is therefore the costumes and make-up of the characters. Janty Yates can expect film award nominations for this. Still, the film has received complaints from actual members of the Gucci family that the relatives were better dressed in real life compared to the actors in the film. They also credibly convey the places where the story takes place.
Al Pacino comes out the best of the film cast and knows how to provide the best and most believable accent compared to the entire cast. Lady Gaga and Adam Driver have good chemistry together in the film, but their relationship sometimes comes across as weak. Patrizia is clearly showing signs that she is more behind the Gucci family's money than she really loves Maurizio. Their accents can also come across as a bit unusual. Lady Gaga has more of an Eastern European accent than real Italian. Her characters seem to come more from Russia in some scenes. Of the entire cast, Salma Hayek is the only one who has received help with speaking in the correct accent. This is probably because she is married to the man who now owns the Gucci brand. If they had helped the entire cast a little more with their accents in the film, they would have come across a bit more like people from the same country. Who even seems to play in a completely different film is Jared Leto, because in the film he wears a fattening costume and also has a strange shaved hair style. In the film, he comes across as too exaggerated compared to the rest and speaks excessively in a high-pitched voice. He sometimes sounds just like the video game character Mario.
