No. 104 (2021) THE HOUSE OF GUCCI Dec. 21st.

 

Film No. 104 (2021)  December 21st.  6.30 PM  Backlot Cinema West Perth. 

"Gucci needs new blood. It's time to take out the trash."(Patrizia Gucci suggests the next step for the world renowned fashion house, to husband Maurizio, in the early stages of their marriage and partnership).

You'd have to have been living under a rock not to have seen some form of promotion for THE HOUSE OF GUCCI. Universal and M.G.M. have placed a few eggs (not all, but a good few) in their Summer/Autumn basket, when it comes to box office and it seems to be paying off. The House of Gucci could do with a twenty minute cut, but Ridley Scott has created a good, colourful yarn, inspired by true events.

This version is entertaining, so the truth about what really happened at Gucci in the two decades (seventies into nineties) would have been far more complicated. Adam Driver plays Maurizio as only Adam Driver would, with a languid calm. The real Maurizio is touted to have had a harder edge, and was definitely more ruthless. Lady Gaga gives a convincing performance, but I'm not sure Patrizia is as likeable as Gaga makes her out to be, particularly in the first half of HOUSE. 

The Gucci story has always been screaming out to be told. It deserves this Ridley Scott treatment and for the most part you'll be thoroughly entertained. There is an expectation that you know a little of who was running what in the fashion empire when this tale begins (mid 1970's). I knew nothing, so it took me a little time to fit Aldo (Al Pacino), Maurizia's uncle along with Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons), his father, into place. The Gucci aficionados will, I feel sure, have issues with Scott's interpretation. Black sheep Paolo played like a cartoon parody by Jared Leto, is a case in point.  

THE HOUSE OF GUCCI is everything we'd expect from Ridley Scott. Its trailer belies the final product. It's a straight forward story about complicated characters. Scott gives it a blockbuster grandeur with lots of polish. HOUSE has attracted audiences world wide with ease. Its New Year release here in Australia will work nicely in the air-conditioned palaces throughout this hot land. 9GUMS.