‘House of Gucci’ movie review: Lady Gaga’s extraordinary turn as Patrizia Reggiani steals the show
The Hindu
Ridley Scott’s film, based on Sara Gay Forden’s 2001 book, tells the story of the downfall of the family-owned business through the lens of the outsider
When Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) devoutly makes the sign of the cross and says “Father, son and House of Gucci,” you get a sense of what the luxury fashion brand meant to the working-class girl. Ridley Scott’s true crime take on the 100-year-old brand is not so much about couture, catwalks, copious amounts of coke or catatonic models, but about fathers and sons, husbands and wives and squabbling siblings.
The film, based on Sara Gay Forden’s 2001 book, The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed, tells the story of the downfall of the family-owned business through the lens of the outsider, Patrizia. She marries the Gucci heir, Maurizio (Adam Driver), much to his father, Rodolfo’s (Jeremy Irons) dismay.
Rodolfo’s brother, Aldo, (Al Pacino) who was responsible for making Gucci a global brand, is more forgiving of Maurizio and invites the young family to work with him in New York. Aldo does not hold out much hope from his son, Paolo (Jared Leto), who he describes as an idiot, but “my idiot”.