From December 2nd, Ridley invites Scott to the “House of Gucci”. With a star studded cast, he tells the deadly power struggle of the Gucci dynasty.
“Blade Runner” and “Alien” director Ridley Scott (84) is once again versatile and presents with “House of Gucci” (start: December 2nd) a drama about one of the most famous fashion houses in the world. Scott remains true to one thing: Oscar winners and nominees are also hand in hand in his latest work. But can the film with a top-class cast keep what it promises?
“House of Gucci”: that’s what it’s about
In “House of Gucci” three decades of the fashion empire of the same name are processed. The drama, based on true events, begins at the end of the 1970s and with a fateful encounter: Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga, 35) meets the shy law student Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver, 38), one of the heirs of the iconic fashion house. She is immediately fascinated by him and makes advances to him. Maurizio is also taken with the daughter of a transport company, unlike his traditional father Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons, 73), son of Gucci founder Guccio Gucci.
Maurizio breaks with him and marries Patrizia, who wants to sell her husband a position in the family business after the death of his father. She has to fight against a male domain: Maurizio’s enterprising uncle Aldo (Al Pacino, 81) and his crazy cousin Paolo (Jared Leto, 49) want to maintain their positions. Patrizia incites Maurizio to commit a coup.
The couple are slowly but surely taking control of the business. By making false promises, the two get Paolo to sell his shares. Aldo also pay them off after serving in prison for tax evasion. Once at the top, however, the cracks between the power couple get deeper and deeper. Maurizio does not recognize his wife, who is seizing on power, while he finds himself more and more pleased with his position – he prefers to reap the fruits of the mutual success alone. With designer Tom Ford (60), the brand should succeed in a new chapter of success. But the numbers are wrong and Maurizio has to fear for his own place in the family business.
After the Gucci heir has another wife by his side and the divorce is imminent, Patrizia is furious. “I made him what he is,” she tells her friend and clairvoyant Pina Auriemma (Salma Hayek, 55). A curse pronounced on her husband by Pina is no longer enough – something “stronger” has to be found to stop her husband …
A dynasty brings itself down
The successful series “Succession” is the latest example that power struggles in a family empire hold a great fascination. Ridley Scott quickly secured the film rights to Sara Gay Forden’s book “The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamor and Greed” (2001). The story of the Gucci dynasty of family secrets, betrayal and a shocking murder was made for the big screen per se.
The quarrels in the family including jealousies, rivalries or simple human feelings such as an intimate father-son love are on the one hand tangible, on the other hand it is always about their effects on an entire family empire, which is being destroyed step by step by its members. The Guccis act with an Italian temperament and out of the deepest passion, but do not understand that they are bringing down exactly what they have created.
Whether the representation of the people is true to life? Relatives and descendants of the Guccis expressed themselves critically and were angry that the producers of the film had not consulted the heirs. However, director Scott let this ricochet off in an interview with BBC Radio: “You have to remember that one Gucci was murdered and another ended up in jail for tax evasion. […] As soon as you do such a thing, you become part of the commons. “
Renowned names for famous role models
In order to do justice to the strong characters of the Guccis, well-known names were almost a must in the cast. For the role of Patrizia Gucci, Scott has brought none other than Lady Gaga to his side. The singer has one great advantage: on the screen, she can still surprise. While she played an innocent and loving young woman in her leading role debut “A Star Is Born” (2018), she now convinces as an ambitious and unscrupulous beauty who is seduced by her husband’s legacy and bitterly disappointed in love. Gaga goes through Patrizia’s personal transformation up to the dramatic finale, in which the optical changes over the years also help her to develop into the tough Gucci. Salma Hayek’s Pina becomes an accomplice and the devil on her shoulder who advises her, as a strong woman, to take what is due to her.
At first skeptical whether he should really give himself up to the name Gucci and the family, Maurizio is seduced by the power. Adam Driver can be the shy as well as the self-confident heir who adapts more and more, albeit optically consistent, to the Gucci lifestyle with expensive art and fast cars. While Patrizia holds on to their marriage, he is cool and serene. Her husband is a Gucci, he explains to Patrizia and leaves no doubt about his new personality.
In order to transform it to perfection, however, Jared Leto competed for the film. Fortunately, he didn’t shy away from hours of make-over and, thanks to make-up artist Göran Lundström, became the stouter Paolo every day of shooting, who as a dreamer does not like his position in the company and actually just wants to be liked and valued. With Al Pacino as his father Aldo, Leto delivers an amusing duo that gives the film a lightness alongside all the intrigues and power games. “He’s an idiot, but he’s my idiot”, Aldo sums up the lovable relationship between the two. Otherwise, Al Pacino shines as a shirt-sleeved entrepreneur with charm, who in the end fought for his family business with a price that was too high.
Immerse yourself in the sweet life
Although the viewer probably knows about the bitter end from the real events of Gucci history, the tension in the film remains high until the end and despite the two and a half hours of length. One would like to see the house of cards continue to collapse and understand how the fall of the family could come about. Even the murder case and its consequences almost fade into the background in the end, the Gucci soap lives rather from its eccentric protagonists and their quarrels.
The eventful family history is embedded in a backdrop that one would expect from a film about a glamorous fashion empire. The high-gloss work is bursting with Dolce Vita, including lavish estates, sleek cars, expensive Gucci suits and dresses and bling-bling accessories that adorn the protagonists. At times, the viewer finds himself not only in Rome or Milan, but also in New York or in the snowy backdrop of the Alps. The scenes are then partly overdrawn with Italian classics and clichéd opera arias. In between, real classics of pop history sound and facilitate the leaps in time in the three decades of Gucci history.
Conclusion
Ridley Scott has given a film-ready story the right guise – with a good feel for cast and detailed and imposing backdrops. The film is particularly worthwhile for fashion fans because of its optics, the history of the fashion brand and the business itself are only touched upon with the recruitment of Tom Ford. The focus is clearly on family machinations away from the catwalk – and they provide enough entertainment.