Review: House Of Gucci

Image courtesy of United Artists Releasing.

Ridley Scott's "House of Gucci" is part compelling true crime drama - although it takes some time to get to the crime - and part enjoyable camp fest. On the one hand, Lady Gaga gives a genuinely strong performance as Patrizia Reggiani, the wife of Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver). On the other, the rest of the cast - which includes Al Pacino, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons and Salma Hayek -  appear to be having a good time hamming it up. This is not meant as a slight regarding their performances, but it seems pretty obvious that "over the top" was the vibe being sought.

I wasn't too familiar with the Gucci family tragedy - just as I wasn't familiar with the Versaci one either that was detailed in a Netflix miniseries - but it's a classic example of why the adage about not getting family mixed up in business has some truth to it. As the film opens, Maurizio is studying to be a lawyer and isn't too interested in getting involved with his family's clothing empire.

His father, Rodolfo (Irons, who gets my vote for the funniest line readings), wants to lure Maurizio in, whereas his uncle, Aldo (Pacino), and his often ridiculed cousin, Paolo (Leto), are somewhat distant. Rodolfo is none too pleased after Maurizio meets Patrizia at a party, she basically stalks him afterward, convinces him to take her out on a date and ends up having lunch with both father and son. Rodolfo seems at a loss for words after Patrizia tells him that her father works in "ground transportation."

After they marry, Patrizia tries to strong-arm Maurizio into joining the family business, and then convinces him to crack down on his family's flawed business practices. Rodolfo dies - but makes peace with his son before that - while Aldo gets pushed out of the company he expanded and poor Paolo - Leto's character gets the most absurd scenes in the film - can't get any respect or financial benefits as Maurizio and Patrizia overtake the company.

But eventually, Maurizio comes to despise his wife after seeing how she convinced him to alienate his family, and he begins to lose interest in her. Teaming up with a psychic (Hayek) - this friendship is among the film's weaker elements because there's no satisfactory explanation as to how it developed to the point where Patrizia would be conspiring with the woman - the spurned wife first tries to win back her husband, but then settles on a more deadly means of handling the situation.

"House of Gucci" runs a little over two-and-a-half hours. Its running time is occasionally felt, especially during some drawn-out sequences that basically give the actors the opportunity to camp up the proceedings a little - I'm thinking especially of one in which Paolo makes the mistake of visiting his uncle, only to be insulted and inspired to take out his vengeance on Rodolfo's, um, scarf.

So, yes, "House of Gucci" doesn't shy away from being a little ridiculous, all the while remaining a fairly intriguing drama about how a fraught family business ended in murder. Gaga, who already proved she could act in Bradley Cooper's "A Star is Born," is particularly ferocious as Patrizia, a woman who in less than a minute can grieve with her ex-husband's lover before kicking her out of the home in which she lives without batting an eye. 

As Maurizio, Driver gives a more subtle performance as a man who comes off as meek, but can be just as ruthless as the rest of his family when the opportunity arises. And as I'd mentioned, Pacino, Leto and Irons get to have most of the fun as the colorful Gucci family members, while Hayek's role as the psychic friend also adds a little camp.

Scott has made two films this year - the fierce feminist medieval drama "The Last Duel" is the better of the two - that have both been about women's roles among systems of power. In "Duel," we sympathize with the woman whose fate is at the whims of cruel men, whereas the woman who brings down the Gucci family is a shark who isn't afraid to play dirty in a predominantly boys club. Even when it gets a little over the top and its running time is slightly felt, "House of Gucci" is a mostly enjoyable film.