HOUSE OF GUCCI (2021) – An intriguing Game of Thrones in the fashion world
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

My hats off to Ridley Scott for being able to continue directing such wonderful movies at a ripe old age of 84. With The Last Duel and now, House of Gucci, Ridley proves he is still very much a maestro in the movie making world. House of Gucci starts off a little bit like how The Last Duel did, by showing us a scene that happens at the end of the story before bringing us to the start of the story.
House of Gucci does not tell us how the Gucci brand started and became the iconic fashion brand. Instead it focus on how the Gucci family lost their family legacy through its internal family feuds. The seed of the destruction is seen to have been sowed when a common outsider, Patrizia Reggiani married into the Gucci family, to Maurizio Gucci, who is the heir to the empire.
One of the film’s most amazing feat is in its casting of so many big names in Hollywood to play the various pivotal characters. Lady Gaga once again shows us her strong acting talent as Patrizia. No singing this time, just plain powerhouse acting. Adam Driver seems to be a Ridley Scott favorite as he is cast once again in the lead as Maurizio. This role is a little under played in comparison to the usual strong characters that Adam Driver plays, but he nevertheless does justice to his role. Veterans Jeremy Irons and Al Pacino added class to the act playing the Gucci brothers who don’t always see eye to eye. But it was Jared Leto who truly blew me away as the idiot son to Aldo Gucci, Paolo. Not only was Jared unrecognisable as the obese and often unfashionable Paolo, he was absolutely convincing as the low witted embarrassment to the Gucci family.
Other delights were the nostalgic disco music of the era that accompanies the scenes of partying and fashion catwalks. The sets , costumes and locales all takes us back to the 1980’s and 1990’s where life seem so different from today.
So … great performances, a gripping true story, and a shocking and rather sad ending (to those who are unaware of the Gucci family history) .. all makes this grand scale Hollywood in the tradition of the good old days where movies are great because they have great stories to tell and get told well. With the movie awards season currently on, I am surprised that House of Gucci (and The Last Duel) are not getting the recognition they deserve. But no matter, what is more important is Ridley Scott is alive and kicking and still making great movies for us all to look forward to.