More saga than soap opera, “House of Gucci” makes its true crime story its star. At a staggered 2 ½ hour run time, the film’s saved from sinking by an A-list array of actors providing interest in the intrigue and director Ridley Scott’s knack for creating a cinematic world in which to escape.
“House” recounts the events leading to the plot to kill fashion empire heir Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) by his wife Patrizia (Lady Gaga). Starting in 1978, the film spans 20 years with the couple’s meeting, marrying and collision course toward murder.
Despite a working-class background, young Patrizia Reggiani finds herself invited to an elite Milanese masquerade ball where she meets wallflower Maurizio. In a ‘meet-cute’ where she mistakes Maurizio for a bartender, Patrizia finds he’s a Gucci and knows the iconic name. Later seeing Maurizio on the street, she creates the circumstance to secure a date. As no man’s smarter than a woman out to get him, Maurizio begins dating Patrizia and takes her to meet his father Rodolfo Gucci (Jeremy Irons).
Once Rodolfo learns of Patrizia’s lower-class status and sensing she’s a gold-digger, he warns Maurizio not to marry her. Maurizio disregards the advice and marries Patrizia anyway. An estrangement begins between Maurizio and Rodolfo but, upon learning of the wedding, Uncle Aldo (Al Pacino) reaches out to Maurizio and Patrizia.
In building the Gucci empire, Aldo was the architect while Rodolfo created the designs. With Rodolfo out of the picture, Patrizia pushes Maurizio toward bonding with Aldo to stay within the fashion fortune. The only fly in the ointment is Aldo’s son Paolo (Jared Leto), whom Aldo and Rodolfo both deem too simple to be successful in their industry.
Aldo’s flamboyance and familial love allows Patrizia to manipulate him while moving Maurizio under Aldo’s wing. As to not upset the apple cart, she finds a plan to include Paolo as well. Once Maurizio begins to master the managerial duties, Patrizia begins to live the life of opulence she’d eyed.
Always scheming, Patrizia soon uses Aldo and Paolo as pawns to secure more strength for Maurizio. Once Maurizio becomes more powerful, Patrizia senses she may be losing him to another woman, Paola (Camille Cottin). At a St. Moritz ski outing with friends, Maurizio begins to correct Patrizia for overembellishing stories with “unnecessary details.” Patrizia responds by saying Maurizio may be the unnecessary detail. As Shakespeare would say, the die is cast.
In a lot of ways, “House of Gucci” is Shakespearian scheming mixed with the Frankenstein/Pygmalion twist of Patrizia turning Maurizio into her ‘monster.’ As ‘all the world’s a stage’ in Shakespeare, Ridley Scott’s immaculate world of wealth and fashion is an impressive element: from opulent Italian estates to posh New York penthouses, custom clothing to Lamborghini Countach cars, fashion show catwalks to funky strobed discotheques- it’s a fun world to wander within.
However, it’s the cast that completes the picture. Even with Italian accents that can be tough to pull off, everyone gets by believably. As for character traits, the actors pull them off with aplomb: from Irons’ rigidity to Pacino’s bravado, Driver’s milque-toast demeanor morphing into dominance. But its Gaga and Leto who standout: Gaga, for showing Patrizia’s arc of decline through manipulative to manic; Leto, for playing Paolo with the arrogant air of the Gucci heir wanting approval. Under a prosthetic bald cap and double chin, Leto’s got the flashier part- as the ‘Fredo’ of the Gucci family, he’s the scene-stealer.
While the pacing could have been plodding, Scott and company have a better-than-average advantage: the film benefits from their acting and directorial acumen. In another filmmaker’s hands, the movie’s production probably would have paled in comparison. Here, it’s enough to make this murder-driven drama a ‘house’ worth visiting.