Tremont Mail

House of Gucci

House of Gucci – 2021 (Crime, Drama)
rated    –    starstarstarstarstar

“Father, son and House of Gucci.” What is possibly one of the most memorable lines in recent movie history for me. Star of the film Lady Gaga (“A Star is Born,” “American Horror Story”) ad-libbed the line. She said, "I would do it in the trailer all the time. I was doing it in the trailer and then something about that scene when we were doing it felt right. We did it, and it's a testament to [director] Ridley Scott as a director because he uses the stuff. He uses the creativity. He uses the love."

A story I knew little about, the marriage of Maurizio Gucci to Patrizia Reggiani, was incredibly intriguing. Although pretty straightforward, Scott was able to craft a film that kept you intrigued the entire way through all two hours and 38 minutes of it. With some weak points, including a very odd Jared Leto (“Dallas Buyers Club,” “Suicide Squad”) performance that gave us an accent that sounded exactly like Mario.

While watching the film, I got lost in Lady Gaga’s accent; I found it misplaced and felt forced. This was a powerful lesson learned; afterward, I watched some YouTube videos of Reggiani’s interviews, and I was so wrong; it was perfect! Gaga was nearly perfect with her take on the character from start to finish. I doubt she’ll get the win come Oscar time, especially considering Kristen Stewart’s rendition of Princesses Diana is a standout frontrunner.

I don’t know enough about Maurizio Gucci to rate Adam Driver’s portrayal. He seemed to be pretty on point with his mannerisms, but something about him felt out of place. I have to admit that sometimes I can’t help but picture Kylo Ren from “Star Wars” while watching Driver in other films. It’s unfair to him, but I can’t help it; I think that in my mind, he got typecast with that role.

Along with Leto’s odd performance, some of my other issues were that it seemed like Scott left out a lot of important scenes and then, at the same time, seemed to focus on just as many that weren’t important at all. While speaking to a friend, he had mentioned what a straightforward voice-over narrative could’ve done for the film, and I have to agree. At the same time, I also think that the importance of a more in-depth background would’ve helped immensely!

Surprisingly, I’ve heard pretty negative reviews on this from many people; I don’t get it. While there are things I would’ve changed, I also really enjoyed the experience. After Lady Gaga’s breakout performance in “A Star is Born,” I thought this was a fantastic follow-up. Today, I just learned that there would be an extended edition of the film that interests me. While this was pretty long on its own, I think that an expanded edition could flush out some of the moments that I felt were glossed over.

I also got to enjoy “Belfast,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” and “8-Bit Christmas” this long weekend as well. I will probably tackle a few more as well. There’s a stretch of some smaller films coming up, along with the remake of “West Side Story” to look forward to as well.

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