Title: House of Gucci
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek, and Al Pacino
Movie length: 2 hours 37 minutes
What it is: A biographical crime drama based on the book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden about the glamourous and ambitous Patrizia Reggiani, played by Lady Gaga, who married into the Gucci family… and who eventually hired a hitman to kill her husband, played by Adam Driver.
What Dan Thought: HOUSE OF GUCCI is a great film based on a true story which, until I heard about the movie, I wasn’t familiar with — and that’s surprising, considering the many twists and turns, colorful characters and almost hard-to-believe situations the film covers. You’d think that the tale would be one of those oft-told morality tales, embraced more into the mainstream. Maybe, like Scorsese’s THE WOLF OF WALL STREET that shone its own light on a roster of real-life reprobates, HOUSE OF GUCCI will too.
Ridley Scott is a legend behind the camera, of course, and his eye for detail plays well in the world of high fashion. But one thing that sometimes gets overlooked amongst all the spectacle is his gift at getting great performances out of his casts, and here there is no exception. The main cast is all great, as to be expected of a roster of this stature — with a highlight being including an almost unrecognizable Jared Leto as the patriarch Paolo Gucci. The on-screen chemistry of Driver and Gaga was terrific and electrifying and served as a solid centerpiece to the whole tale.
Photo credit: Fabio Lovino © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved. 
Photo credit: Fabio Lovino © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.
In a few months, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gaga nominated for her role in this movie as she did for 2018’s A STAR IS BORN, it has the same worthy energy.
Production design, cinematography, and screenwriting are all top-notch, with particular mentions going to the soundtrack/score put together by veteran composer (and frequent collaborator with both Ridley and his brother, the late Tony Scott) Harry Gregson-Williams, and the editing by Clare Simpson is generous yet efficient: HOUSE OF GUCCI‘s timeline spans multiple decades and yet, in the main, avoids feeling slow and cumbersome, regardless of the amount of history to cover. And, as one can expect from a movie based on Gucci, the fashion was top notch as they moved across the timeline of the Gucci empire thanks to Janty Yates who has been the costume designer for multiple Ridley Scott movies dating back to 2007’s AMERICAN GANGSTER.
Dan’s Grade: B. While the movie has great acting from the two main leads, it’s not without its wrinkles with parts of the movie that did drag out a bit… but you have to grant this is understandable since they had to cover a lot of back story about one of the top fashion houses in the world. Did I enjoy the movie? Yes. Would I see in a theater again? Nope. Would I watch it at home so I can take advantage of pausing it, taking a quick break to run to the restroom? Yes, yes I would.
House of Gucci is now in theaters.
Do you plan to watch it? Have you already? Let us know in the comments or chat with us on Twitter – @TheConCollectve!
