House of Gucci (2021) - Passionate, dangerous Gaga shines in poorly-paced drama about the downfall of Gucci

Credit: allocine.fr

Forget the Gucci family in their silk neckties and gold-embossed brogues: there is only one star in Ridley Scott’s new drama, and as everyone is quick to point out, she is not a Gucci. Lady Gaga positively shines as the outsider Patrizia Reggiani, who works for her father’s trucking firm before she meets the shy, bespectacled Maurizio Gucci, whom she immediately takes under her wing. The pair fall in love, marry, and start a life together, only for Maurizio’s family company and their consequent lust for power to turn them against each other.

There is a lot to like about House of Gucci. The winners are no doubt décor and costumes, and surprisingly the soundtrack, which is as odd as it is effective. Jared Leto delivers a very moving performance as Paolo Gucci, the failed and mocked wannabe designer of the family, whose first introduction is a nasty fall and bloody nose after being tackled in a friendly game of rugby. But the real star, of course, is Gaga, who takes the film by the reins and guides the rest of the cast to shore. Her performance as conniving meddler in business that should not concern her is outstanding: no sooner does she notice that Maurizio is incapable of handling his family that she intervenes, first as caring wife wanting her new husband to reconcile with his father, then as controlling and elusive businesswoman riskily manipulating the Gucci family into signing their shares over. Her character arc is beautifully crafted, not only because we are given a range of seductive, calculative, passionate, dangerous and vulnerable, but also because it is simply the only one developed throughout. Reggiani starts small, marries big, and takes over, only for her ambitions to get the better of her. None of the Gucci clan, who all seem to revolve around her and her impeccable dress sense, are given such special treatment. Jeremy Irons, who plays Rodolfo Gucci shortly before his death, manages a few, less-than-passionate words about his past career as an actor (The Lion King fans will no doubt hear Scar behind a weary attempt at an Italian accent). Despite his charm and seemingly trustworthy personality, Adam Driver’s Maurizio Gucci undergoes a complete alteration of character without any explanation, going from effaced son of Gucci with no interest in the company to hungry businessman without any principles. During a scene in which Reggiani joins him and his friends at a skiing resort, I was abruptly reminded, rather strangely, of Danny DeVito’s The War of the Roses, in which Kathleen Turner’s attempts at telling a story are ceaselessly interrupted by her husband (Michael Douglas), an embarrassing tiff between spouses witnessed by a table of colleagues. The collapse of their relationship is tentative, gradual, first noticed surrounded by friends at a lunch or dinner. However, while there are stages of descent in the Rose’ marriage, Reggiani and Gucci’s makes a violent turn without explanation or warning, weakening Gucci’s character and that of his new partner, Paola Franchi (Camille Cottin), whose role could have been developed and used against Reggiani had the film been better paced. In the end, House of Gucci gets to the party too early and leaves too late, allowing no time for rhythm or rise and fall, but instead a medley of scenes that do not contribute to the end goal: understanding where it all went wrong.