House of Gucci
‘House of Gucci’ may not be as good as I wished for it to be. However, it doesn’t disappoint me either. The film seizes on the flow from the trailer for which I can say was my favourite trailer of 2021.
Gucci. It was a name that sounded so sweet, so seductive. Synonymous with wealth, style, power. But that name was the curse too.
After ‘The Last Duel‘, Ridley Scott doesn’t hesitate to bring yet another film into the cinemas this year. ‘House or Gucci’ depicts the tragedy behind the family feud of the Gucci’s in the 1980s. A story of power, love, hate, betrayal, sex, and death. ‘House of Gucci’ is a tragedy in the garment of a comedy-drama. According to the Gucci family themselves a little too comedic. For me, the film has another problem, it is too long. The run time of 2h and 38 min is not too long for the story but too long for the story the film tells. With a run time this long, I would’ve wanted more insights into the business of the family. The film often feels like another ‘Marriage Story’, only this time with Lady Gaga and not as good as the Oscar winner. However, I was pleased after ‘House of Gucci’, not because I loved the film but because I loved the trailer.
You should reconsider your wardrobe choices. You are Gucci. You need to dress the part.
The trailer starts with Patrizia Reggiani, portrayed by Lady Gaga, and the same words the film begins. Teasing a family dispute full of intrigues, ‘Heart of Glass’ starts playing and the murky atmosphere gets delighted with the light-footed, worry-free vibe of Blondie’s song. A fine mixture with raising suspense as the trailer goes on. That vibe is what got me hyped for ‘House of Gucci’ primordially. The other thing was the cast. As already shown in the trailer, the film has quite a considerable cast. Maurizio Gucci is portrayed by the fabulous Adam Driver who made himself visible in Hollywood with his role as Kylo Ren in ‘Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens’. After that, he appears in continuously more films like the mentioned drama ‘Marriage Story’ or Ridley Scott’s ‘The Last Duel‘. Next to him rules Lady Gaga as his wife Patrizia Reggiani. She celebrated her breakthrough in the film industry with her own story in ‘A Star is Born’. The “side” cast contains Al Pacino as Aldo Gucci, Jared Leto as Paolo Gucci, Jeremy Irons as Rodolfo Gucci, Salma Hayek as Giuseppina Auriemma and Jack Huston as my favourite character of the film Domenico De Sole. They all are fine choices and imitate the Italian accent accordingly, although real Italians could evaluate that better than me.
Gucci is like a cake. And you’ll have a taste, and you want more. And then you’ll want the whole thing for yourself.
Let’s head back to the music. ‘House of Gucci’ is full of it and I don’t mean the default composed Soundtrack, no, I’m talking about the songs like ‘Blue Monday’ from New Order. Due to the mere length of the film, there are many songs used to diffuse the drama. Although I like that as well as I cherish the particular songs used, they have to contribute to the pacing of the film and therefore need to be used frequently. The film is already too long and every time a new song comes up, it only reminded me of how many songs I have already listened to within the film. Nevertheless, I was deliriously happy when ‘Heart of Glass’ started playing. The worst thing that could’ve happened to ‘House of Gucci’ would’ve been to not include that very song from the glorious trailer.
Apart from its run time problem, the film has another problem, character development. To be more precise, the problem is that there is quite a hard turn for some characters’ motives and motivations. This wouldn’t be to criticise if the film would show us the reasons for that. Their motives may all seem very graspable, however, we don’t know why they have them. Especially a film that long could spend some more time on the character’s internal happenings and their change throughout the events.
I don’t consider myself to be a particularly ethical person, but I am fair.
Notwithstanding, I enjoyed ‘House of Gucci’ pretty much. Even though I explained why I felt that there are too many songs in it, I was hooked when most of them started playing. Moreover, the characters are wicked. I admired every single one of them, but especially Jack Huston as Domenico De Sole. As someone who doesn’t know about the story behind the Gucci family, I was very surprised by him and his role within the business. Furthermore, I’d like to mention the beautiful costumes and backdrops. Around the world in Gucci stately homes.
All in all, ‘House of Gucci’ is a well-made film about the family feud of the Guccis in the 1980s. Though it is too long and could focus more on the business flaws and showing character development, the film is a harmonious picture around one of the biggest brands in history and shines with a phenomenal cast, a massive Soundtrack, and beautiful sets.