YET ANOTHER TAKE ON FASHION GENRE

ACTORS STEAL THE SHOW FROM DIRECTOR AND DESIGNER FASHION BRAND

By PETER THOMAS BUSCH

The House of Gucci had a major meltdown that drove out family members from the fashion empire.

Director Ridley Scott shows the world that instead of rejuvenating the fashion label, the rival heirs tore the business empire apart and were eventually outsmarted by a talented new designer and more financially prudent business magnets.

The storyline seems to be the most intriguing part about the film, but Scott takes forever to get to the plot reversal sequence – and when the story is all said and done, the journey getting there seems a bit anti-climactic.

The ensemble cast of experienced actors delivers on several really entertaining acting performances. And the acting art combined with the beautiful Gucci bling in the foreground and the beautiful Milan streetscapes in the background carries the film for nearly the entire way.

Scott also uses humor in the script to transition from scene to scene, making for a compelling movie that is instantly entertaining.

But Scott from time to time changes the pace of the film and suddenly drops everything, the acting, the humor, the score and the beautiful Italian backdrop, for awkward discussions in a cold room about the Gucci family and the fashion empire. Instead of short sound bites from scene to scene, the camera stops moving and everyone has to listen to family members talking in depth about family business matters.

Adam Driver plays the heir apparent, Maurizio Gucci, the son of Rodolfo Gucci, played by Jeremy Irons. Scott initially shows how well bonded the father and son are. Driver and Irons are cast well together with Italian accents and physical mannerisms, while Driver sports oversized glasses and Irons a pencil thin moustache.

Rodolfo owns 50 per cent of Gucci. Aldo Gucci, played by Al Pacino, owns the other 50 per cent. But the two owner operators, Rodolfo in Milan and Aldo in New York, are close to that age when they should retire, but they continue to hold on, thereby causing their sons to get a bit anxious about their futures in the family company.

Pacino plays an endearing character with a subtle mean streak, introducing himself to customers at the New York City showcase on Fifth Avenue, but then Aldo is very firm with his family that he was responsible for the success of the Gucci label. 

Jared Leto plays Rodolfo’s son Poalo. And the four characters share scenes in different combinations. Leto plays an Italian buffoon while representing himself as underappreciated.

Lady Gaga plays Patrizia Reggiani, the love interest, who changes the family dynamic when she marries Maurizio. Maurizio thinks Patrizia looks like Elizabeth Taylor. Lady Gaga wears black hair and puts on a dark complexion make over to appear like Taylor, and in certain scenes, depending on the camera angle and the lighting, Patrizia begins to look more and more like Taylor the further into the movie everyone gets, as if love blinds even the audience.

Lady Gaga truly does act in the film as opposed to her previous movie role as a singer songwriter in A Star Is Born (2018).

The great acting and the script really steal the show initially when the camera follows these different characters around and introduces them and their backstories. Scott does well in introducing these characters but drags out the success a bit too long.

When the plot reversal scenes occur, the fallout seems out of proportion to the cause, mainly because Scott spent so much time introducing the family under more positive circumstances.

Although the cause and effect are presented, the reversal seems untimely and exaggerated. The film producers have been promoting the film for several months, and in the end, the biopic seems a bit overhyped, while remaining entertaining and worthwhile to watch.

As well, Lady Gaga has been promoted in a leading role, which is true, but Driver puts in an amazingly compelling performance as a costar.

Scott takes everyone back a few decades with the choice of cars and props, such as an early model Apple computer, and the Gucci fashion products.

The director takes a linear narrative but he then divides up the screen time with the different characters, showcasing excellent acting as much as the storyline, as the camera rolls from Milan to New York and back to Milan, and so forth.

Scott essentially creates a film about a love story and has everyone believing the love story, but then he takes the dynamic apart as the younger generation of Gucci begin to battle over the different parts of the fashion empire.

House of Gucci is playing in theaters.