House of Gucci

We now get to Ridley Scott's second film of the 2021 Oscar season. This is House of Gucci, rewritten from Sara Gay Forden's nonfiction book by Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna. I found this more interesting than I thought it would be ... some issues notwithstanding.

In 1978, Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) marries Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), heir to the Gucci fashion empire. His father, Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons), disapproves but not his uncle, Aldo (Al Pacino). Patrizia decides to play Lady Macbeth for her and Maurizio's sake. That involves tricking Aldo and his loser son, Paolo (Jared Leto), into signing away pretty much all their shares. Maurizio, once a promising law student, now becomes a corrupt mogul. Meanwhile, Patrizia makes friends with a TV psychic, Pina (Salma Hayek). They decide to take care of Maurizio when he threatens to divorce her. 

Its pileup of corporate and financial betrayals lasts for 158 minutes. Other bits include Paolo outing Aldo for Tax Fraud, Patrizia sicking the copyright police on Paolo, Maurizio cheating on Patrizia with a friend, Paola (Camille Cottin), and Maurizio heading for Switzerland to avoid arrest. This makes for a wacky soap opera season. It's fun to see it pile up despite its massive length. But it often plays its hijinks seriously as much as it goes over the top. One must remember it's a film where a TV psychic helps plot a murder. 

Theoretically, this cast is fine. Driver, Pacino, Irons and Hayek fit their parts like well-worn Gucci suits. Gaga as Patrizia is great as a scheming Lady Macbeth type; however, the film seems to flip-flop later whether she's that or the forgotten wife of a scheming suit. Some folks have questioned her accent, but it's subtle compared to Leto as Paolo. I rarely took any of his scenes seriously thanks to his over-the-top accent and mannerisms. A notable exception is when Rodolfo lambasts his gaudy fashion designs; his dejection is pitiable. But overdubbing his anguished cries when the copyright police strike with a car horn is unintentionally hilarious. He's Fredo Corleone if The Godfather was a Saturday Morning Cartoon.

Those aforementioned Gucci suits are recreated by costume designer Janty Yates. They make part of a memorable fall lineup that includes Paolo's gaudy fashion and Patrizia's extremely formal attire. A strong makeup team convincingly ages Lady Gaga nearly twenty years and renders Leto unrecognizable as Paolo. Production Designer Arthur Max and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski do a fine job of recreating the Guccis' fashionably sterile world. There's also a score by Harry Gregson-Williams, but there's a more memorable selection of oldies on the soundtrack, including some opera.

House of Gucci makes for a long soap opera episode. It's also a serious drama about the corrupting power of wealth. A few characters act like they're in one or the other. The Gucci brand is out of my price range, but its dysfunctional family story is easy to buy into. See it for yourself if you agree. Just be prepared for that massive length; there's several more films of that size to get through this year.