House of Gucci – Movie Reviews by Ry!

House of Gucci – Greed of Fashion: It’s a Family Thing

True life, a bastion for inspirations and uniqueness.  In the relativity of the everyday, filmmakers can build a foundation for storytelling.  From modern day to classical periods, pulling from the known can lead to an intriguing experience on the big screen.  In this review, I look at the latest Ridley Scott film that showcases the rise and fall of Gucci.  With strong performances, House of Gucci is an entertaining story about the dysfunction of family … with money.

The central focus is on the journey of Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), a witness to the rise and fall of the Gucci family.  Coming from humble beginnings, she falls in love and marries Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver).  The first act focuses on a foundation of real-life events, building up the world of a rich family.  Each scene is woven through traditional elements of romance and family drama, stringing together relationship and character building through Patrizia’s interactions with the Gucci family.  The directive is to give an outsider’s perspective of odd characters with wealth, showcasing the dynamism of each family member.  Patrizia learns about the complexity of the company, seeing who the stakeholders are (in the fashion business).  That outsider perspective provides a noticeable screen of revelation, showing a clash between old and new ideas to modernize the business.  Seeing the marriage as a chance to put herself into a position of power, she begins a slow power play on the ‘family’ chess board.  Through an ominous string of convenient plotting, she influences her husband to take control of the company from his Uncle Aldo Gucci (Al Pacino) and cousin, Paolo Gucci (Jared Leto).  This leads into a second act of character focused melodrama. 

As chess pieces are moved on the board, each scene is built through a contrasting of image vs. reality.  Characters become fractured within their own persona flaws, bringing about the true dysfunction of the family.  The highs and lows of business relations weaves within the family drama, purported through a line of melodramatic scenes.  Even when things become overtly obvious, the individual performances shine through.  This humanizing of clichés (greed, pride, blindness of wealth) brings about moments of truth.  When reality breaks through, it leads to a third act where everyone stands at a crossroad.  With family fractures deepen, it leads to a climax of ultimate consequences.  House of Gucci is an intriguing journey of family, wealth and power.  If you are a fan of the director, actors/actresses involve or like true story inspired films, this is one for you.  It is an entertaining film that can be fun on the big screen.       

Full Score – 3.5 out of 5 (Matinee)