House of Gucci
Release Date: November 24, 2021
Run Time: 2 hours & 38 minutes
Reviewed By: Edwina
“When Patrizia Reggiani, an outsider from humble beginnings, marries into the Gucci family, her unbridled ambition begins to unravel the family legacy and triggers a reckless spiral of betrayal, decadence, revenge — and ultimately murder.“
I went into this one with high hopes. I love crime stories and I was excited to see Lady Gaga in this role. I finished the movie feeling somewhat bored and disappointed.
It is based on a true story of how Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) is convicted of murdering her ex-husband, Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver).
The Gucci name has been known in the world of fashion for quite some time and when Patrizia meets Maurizio she sets her sights on becoming serious. She comes from humble beginnings, only to find the rich man of her dreams. Their relationship causes a break in the family. Maurizio is disowned initially, but finds his way back after they have a child. The couple is much happier when they do not have all the wealth around them. Once Maurizio is back in a power position, he has an affair and they eventually go through an ugly divorce. Patrizia loses her mind, as her position as the wife unravels and she hires people to kill Maurizio. She does this with the help of her friend and psychic, Giuseppina (Salma Hayek).
This movie was definitely too long (2:38). All of the intricacies of the family were belabored over and over. The story could have been told more succinctly without taking away from the drama. The acting was over dramatic and I did not see the need. Al Pacino (Aldo Gucci) and Jared Leto (Paolo Gucci) were especially bothersome. Playing the parts so theatrically made them seem fake and annoying. It was difficult relating to their characters. My excitement about seeing Lady Gaga in this role was deflated. Nothing about her performance stood out for me. Another criticism is the color of the English captions that underscore when Italian is being spoken. They are small fonts, light in color, and can hardly be seen… which makes no sense to me. I was often squinting at the screen in order to read.
The one positive note I can make is that I loved the music! Songs by George Michael, David Bowie, Blondie, and several by Donna Summer, just to name a few, kept me rocking in my seat.
I would rate this movie a 5, as my expectation far exceeded my final opinion. If you have others to see first, leave this one for the bottom of the list.
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