{"id":6564,"date":"2021-11-23T09:52:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-23T14:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=6564"},"modified":"2023-12-12T05:50:16","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T10:50:16","slug":"house-of-gucci-is-a-mobbish-ginzo-representation-of-the-actual-true-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=6564","title":{"rendered":"House of Gucci Is A Mobbish \u201cGinzo\u201d Representation Of The Actual True Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sir Ridley Scott brings to the silver screen the shocking murder of Maurizio Gucci and his relationship with Patrizia Reggiani, who was renamed by the Italian press \u201cThe Black Widow\u201d for ordering the hit on him.<\/p>\n

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The film is based on Sara Gay Forden\u2019s 2001 book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you were expecting a clear-cut reenactment of the true events be prepared for something different, because the film takes a lot of artistic license. In terms of the characters\u2019 backstories, screenwriters Backy Johnston, Roberto Bentivegna, Becky Johnston, and of course Sara Gay Forden, have done a fairly accurate reconstruction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The narrative covers the entanglements of the Gucci family, when Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), an outsider from humble beginnings, marries Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), and her implacable ambition begins to affect her relationship with her father-in-law Rodolfo Gucci (Jeremy Irons), her uncle-in-law Aldo Gucci (Al Pacino) and her cousin-in-law Paolo Gucci (Jared Leto). The script dutifully makes references to true circumstances, from the first encounter between Patrizia and Maurizio, to Rodolfo Gucci\u2019s past as an actor, from Maurizio\u2019s affair with Paola Franchi (Camille Cottin), to the involvement of Patrizia\u2019s psychic Giuseppina \u201cPina\u201d Auriemma (Salma Hayek) in hiring Maurizio Gucci\u2019s murderer, and even the moment when Tom Ford (Reeve Carney) became creative director at the Italian fashion house.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Adam Driver stars as Maurizio Gucci and Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani in Ridley Scott\u2019s
HOUSE OF GUCCI\u00a0A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film,\u00a0Photo credit: Fabio Lovino
\u00a9 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.<\/p>\n
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All Rights Reserved.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However the entire mise-en-sc\u00e8ne and dialogues go astray. Jokes that should amuse leave high and dry, and situations that should represent the climax of tragedy lead to an involuntary comedic effect. The camp aesthetics used to convey this story could be the grounds for an entertaining black comedy, but there is one major \u2014 and fastidious \u2014 directorial choice that shatters this fashionable house of cards: having the actors perform with an accent. Lady Gaga\u2019s dialect coach criticised the pop-star\u2019s pronunciation saying she sounded more Russian than Italian. [Personal note: as someone who is from Milan and has a British accent, and therefore has an ear for the intonation of words, I must say Stefani Germanotta did not sound like someone from any region of the Bel Paese<\/i>].\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the point at issue is the fact that the entire A-list cast was penalised in the performance by having to act with an accent. The film is a Hollywood blockbuster, so if some trait of authenticity was to be found through language it should have been shot entirely in Italian. Doing it in regular English would have been just as effective. But the choice of transforming the characters in flamboyant \u201cginzo\u201d caricatures is distracting and thrusts ridicule upon the entire drama. This approach does not provide an Italian vibe, but rather a feeling of being in Little Italy.<\/p>\n

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And the emphasis on the Mafia-like backstabbing and scheming turns House of Gucci<\/i> into a fashionable version of The Sopranos<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A common mistake in Hollywood is confusing Italians with Italian-Americans, and this is exactly what the film does. Even the music score \u2014 that is mostly operatic \u2014 enhances this sensation of Godfatherlike<\/i> grandstand play, where the mob wife \u201cPatrizia Gaga\u201d comes across as a tacky Lady Macbeth with unquenchable attachment to the Gucci name.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Jared Leto stars as Paolo Gucci, Florence Andrews as Jenny Gucci, Adam Driver as Maurizio Gucci, Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani and Al Pacino as Aldo Gucci in Ridley Scott\u2019s\u00a0HOUSE OF GUCCI
A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film,\u00a0Photo credit: Courtesy of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures Inc.
\u00a9 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Additionally, the film basks in postcard depictions of lavish destinations, since it was shot in St. Moritz, Villa Balbiano (the luxurious estate on Lake Como that will soon be available to book on Airbnb), Rome and Milan. The use of these locations is another aspect of how Ridley Scott deviates from facts for artistic purposes. For instance, the circumstances of Maurizio Gucci\u2019s murder occurred in Milan\u2019s Via Palestro, whereas in the film it is set in Rome\u2019s Copped\u00e8 neighbourhood. Visually speaking, the area is quaint for the fantastical mishmash of Ancient Greek, Roman Baroque, Mannerist, Medieval and Art Nouveau. But this is not where the assassination occurred. Furthermore, the interior shots of Gucci’s home were done in one of Milan\u2019s House Museums: Villa Necchi Campiglio. This place belonged to a family of Lombard industrialists who owned a cast-iron manufacturing company in Pavia in the 1930s (and their story would make an entirely different film). The mansion was also used for Luca Guadagnino\u2019s 2009 I Am Love.<\/i> However Villa Necchi Campiglio never belonged to the Guccis, but undoubtably it makes a great film location.<\/p>\n

The only one who has managed to truly instil a sense of Gucci in this film is Janty Yates, the costume designer who won an Academy Award in 2001 with another Ridley Scott colossal set in Italy: The Gladiator<\/i>. The selection of dresses is remarkable and spot on. There are some subtle fashion homages, when there are glimpses of Gucci\u2019s iconic Flora<\/i> scarf that Rodolfo Gucci designed for Grace Kelly, and the Italian brand\u2019s loafers with the representative green and red band.<\/p>\n

By and large there is attention to certain details, but the spaghetti with meatballs representation of this Northern Italian family makes House of Gucci <\/i>a badly tailored piece.<\/p>\n

Final Grade: C-<\/p>\n