User reviews

"House of Gucci" is a beautifully shot picture with great people involved. It is somewhat underwhelming and a tad too long, but there are great moments sprinkled throughout the movie.

The film is based on the real murder of Maurizio Gucci and the downfall of the Gucci family. It all begins when Patrizia Reggiani marries into the Gucci family and the rest is history.

Lady Gaga is great as the ambitious Patrizia Reggiani but she is also inconsistent with her performance. Pacino, Driver and Leto are good per usual. It is however a daring choice by the filmmakers to have the actors speak in English with an Italian accent. It is not a huge problem, but it does occasionally take the viewer out of the experience.

The first forty minutes of the movie are great. The characters are well introduced, and the plot is intriguing. The rest of the movie does not maintain this standard. The last 30 minutes are beyond underwhelming and the climax is cold and emotionless.

There are issues with "House of Gucci" but the production design is not one of them. The film is beautifully shot and the locations look great. "House of Gucci" is very stylish and the costume department really outdid themselves.

With everything said, "House of Gucci" is a decent film with outstanding visuals and great acting. If you like fashion, then you should give this movie a watch. It is beautiful and quite enjoyable despite its excessive runtime.

There were quite a number of reasons for wanting to see 'House of Gucci'. The advertising did intrigue and did suggest a film that would be over the top but entertaining in its own way. Ridley Scott's filmography is hit and miss, brilliant at his best like with 'Alien' and 'Blade Runner' though some of his films, such as 'GI Jane' and 'Robin Hood' ('Legend' is underrated in my view), are not too great. The main draw though was the cast, with Lady Gaga (an immensely gifted performer and inspirational person) being a big selling point for many.

For me though, bigger selling points were seeing two of my favourite actors Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons again (and reunited after 'A Merchant in Venice'). Jared Leto has always been very take and leave. 'House of Gucci' turned out to be one of those difficult to rate and review sort of films for me, it is going to be one of those films that some are going to love and others are going to hate (with some in between). It is a hugely flawed film, but there was also a lot to enjoy at the same time. As far as Scott's films go, it's a middling effort. Neither one of his best or worst.

'House of Gucci' has a lot that is good in my view. Have very little to complain about when it comes to how it looks, apart from some editing being in need of a tightening in the final act. The Italian scenery and the costumes are truly stunning though and the camerawork is similarly sumptuous. Scott's direction is uneven dramatically but is very impressive on a technical level, especially in his use of multiple cameras (which must make it easy for actors to know where to look). The soundtrack is also wonderful and beautifully operatic in scope, though not always well placed, but from a standalone point of view there are no complaints here.

Despite the very all over the place accents, with a mix of exaggerated (Leto, to almost cartoonish effect in his case) or barely there (Irons, am a huge fan of Irons but will never deny about accents not being a forte of his), most of the acting is fine. Lady Gaga kills it as Patrizia, who is a very interesting and well fleshed out character here, bringing charm, effortless charisma and menace to her. It has been said that her accent isn't great, as far as the cast goes it's actually the most convincing one along with Salma Hayek's. Adam Driver is a good deal more understated, one of the few in the cast to play it very straight, but he is also compelling and his character growth/decent is believable. They have great chemistry together.

The supporting cast on the whole support them well, Pacino coming off best having a whale of a time as Aldo. Irons brings vulnerability and authority to patriarch Rodolfo and Salma Hayek gives some of her best acting in years. Really liked the chemistry on the whole, Lady Gaga and Driver are great together as are Lady Gaga and Hayek, while that between Irons and Pacino is a joy. 'House of Gucci' does have a few great individual scenes, and one of the best is the magnificent encounter between Irons and Pacino. Personally thought the first half was fine and that it set up the intrigue and characters extremely well. As well as a few funny moments, Rodolfo's verbal brutalising of Paolo was gold and sums up the viewer's opinion of him and his work perfectly.

On the other hand, 'House of Gucci' has a number of shortcomings. One performance didn't work for me and that was Leto. Unrecognisable in much talked about(the talk of social media when advertising was first revealed) makeup that deserves its own film, he overplays his role, especially when the comic relief becomes more dominant, and belongs in a completely different film. Yes the film is very over the top in tone, but Leto's performance veered on excess and too much of a Super Mario Brothers caricature. There are pacing issues, the rather underdeveloped family business stuff drags, sometimes to the point of stalling, due to the lack of tension and gravitas that was not there enough. And other parts come over as very choppy and incomplete feeling, like the final act. The second half needed a tightening up, which would have made the film less overlong (and it is a film that could have been 25 minutes shorter easily).

Also found the ending very rushed and anti-climactic, handled with too much of an indifferent shrug. After spending so long on the family stuff (and not developing that enough) and the increasingly uneasy spurts of comedy, the event that caused such a sensation is just too throwaway in treatment. Tonally, 'House of Gucci' is messy, the comedy going for the campy approach that goes too far into pantomime in the second half and some of the serious moments being too melodramatic. Tonal shifts can be uneasily abrupt.

The script has some funny and intriguing moments, but is on the whole too overwritten in tone (Leto's comedy increasingly gets too much), bland emotionally (the descent into revenge is not examined enough) and also too much of a trying to include as many iconic lines as possible. Some of the line delivery has to be heard to be believed, can imagine right now the amount of reaction gifs online in regard to some of the more comedic lines and Leto's body language.

Concluding, hugely flawed but also quite fun when taking it for what it is. 5.5/10 (was struggling which score of 5 or 6 to give it but decided to go in between and round it up)

House of Gucci is a movie full of famous actors. Lady Gaga is a convincing Patrizia Reggiani, an Italian girl from the Province of Modena who wanted to achieve more in life. Hunting for a potential rich man she goes to parties and at one of these she meets Maurizio Gucci (portrayed by Adam Driver).

The story of Patrizia and Maurizio Gucci, their rise and fall, the dynamics of manipulation, betrayal at the cost of trust around this family and its business is well set, though evolves a bit slow. The best performance in the movie by far though was by Jared Leto as Paolo Gucci, Maurizo's cousin.

Overall, it is an entertaining movie portraying a story about a family, about a brand and a tragedy. Recommended to everyone who wants to look behind the curtain of the myth behind a world-known brand and its drama.

A film so out of its mind that it is operating entirely on impulses, House of Gucci makes for a wild, inconsistent & unabashedly over-the-top biographical crime drama that chronicles the downfall of the Gucci family dynasty without any intent or interest and is surprisingly fuelled by absolutely unhinged performances, each functioning on a separate wavelength and pointed in a different direction.

Directed by Ridley Scott, this tonal nightmare plays out like an (un)intentional parody of the Oscar-bait biopics and is far from the quality of work we expect from the filmmaker at helm. All its elements are at odds with each other, thus resulting in a film so bonkers & unpredictable in its approach & execution that it actually piques the curiosity in a way that's not just unusual or unexpected but also nonsensical.

However, a story treatment this uneven & erratic can only carry on for a while before the appeal goes away and this one goes on for 157 long minutes, all of which is tediously paced. The characters themselves are mere caricatures and the ensemble cast is given the license to render them as such. But none of the actors are ever on the same level or looking for any kind of harmony even when sharing screen together.

Overall, House of Gucci is inarguably the "so bad it's good" film of the year. Laced with irony, drowning in decadence and incongruous in each n every aspect, this overlong & overbearing train-wreck suffers from issues of its own makings and despite boasting an A-list ensemble, it doesn't utilise a shred of their talents. Inadvertently hilarious & downright mediocre, Ridley Scott's latest is what happens when the entire cast n crew is left unsupervised & goes amok.

House of Gucci is probably the most stylish film of 2021, it looked awesome, this was beautifully made, the quality of production and direction is phenomenal. It isn't just style over substance though, it's well made, generally well acted, it tells a fascinating and twisted story.

The main issue about this film for me, was the pacing, it was somewhat uneven, at times it felt frustratingly slow, fortunately it did pick up at its conclusion. The running time was overlong, what is it with films in 2021? Why the need for everything to be almost three hours? Is there some deal for cost per minute at cinemas? Ninety minute films work too.

If you ever think your family has problems, just watch this, and you'll see what family problems really are. Scandal, betrayal and murder, it's a rags to riches story with a twist.

The acting, for the most part I thought it was great, Jeremy Irons was the standout for me, as he so often is, but Lady Gaga was awesome as Patrizia, she did a great job. Adam Driver on the other hand, I'm not sure why, but I felt as though he was a little uninterested, perhaps a little bored?

6/10.

It is an easy film to watch, however the script deserved more film time, since there are so many events to be told, there are some important things that get lost, the film starts by putting the relationship of the protagonists in the foreground, then, the focus changes and the film turns more to Gucci, about the changes and modernization of the brand, the problems of the family etc. The end also deserved a scene with more impact, considering what it happened.

As I'm on holiday at the moment in Portugal, this was seen as "Casa de Gucci". But the soundtrack was English with Portuguese subtitles. At least, I *think* it was English!

Positives:

• Other than the bare outlines, it's a story I knew nothing about, so it made for interesting viewing. And who doesn't want to see some escapist high-fashion, flashy cars and Italian high-living on the big screen?

• Adam Driver delivers another stonking performance. He delivers the best of the accents on show and is a delight to watch whenever he's on screen. His performance is deliciously subtle and under-played. A model for acting lessons.

• Al Pacino, in full-on Pacino mode, is also great as Maurizio's uncle: owner of the other half of the empire.

Negatives:

• The accents! Where do I begin? I felt a desperate need mid-film to order a Cornetto and go compare my car insurance online. While Driver and Pacino tend to rein it in, most of the rest of the cast assume accents approaching a bad parody of Italians. Jared Leto and Gaga are particularly guilty.

• I appreciate that the part of the "idiot" Paolo Gucci was meant to be comedic, but Jared Leto seems to almost be in a different film entirely. There's 'over-the-top' and 'waaaaay over-the-top'.

• I've seen some other reviews praising Lady Gaga... saying that it proves her performance in "A Star is Born" wasn't just a "flash in the pan". Personally, I didn't feel it. I appreciate that the character of Patrizia is a larger-than-life one. But, although she did have some impressive scenes, for most of her performance I felt like she was obviously acting, and sometimes over-acting. The accent didn't help.

• The film has a banging set of tunes, no argument. But for a sprawling drama told over a few decades (the film is nearly 160 minutes long!), music should be used to anchor the movie as to which year you are currently in. Donna Summer "I Feel Love": so it must be 1977. But the movie doesn't consistently follow that rule. It's the early 70's, but suddenly George Michael's "Faith" blares out. #Unsettling.

• This may be my lack of concentration, but there seems to be an assertion in the film (presumably completely false) that Aldo Gucci was supporting/producing knockoff Gucci products for the mass-market: a "lucrative product line" that was later canned by Maurizio. I was personally confused by this bit of the story.

Summary Thoughts on "House of Gucci": This was not the <2* bust that I thought it might be from early word I saw from other reviews. The fact that it turns out to be a 158 minute film surprised me, since it felt long... but not that long. So that's a good thing. And it has its moments for sure. But this is not a movie that I will be in a hurry to revisit, since the accents and some of the performances (Jared Leto - take one step forwards) are not ones that I thought worthy of the potential that the movie had. For me, Ridley, I'll take "The Last Duel" any day.

(For the full graphical review, check out #onemannsmovies online. Thanks.)

This is an odd movie - stylized in humor at times and pure tragedy a minute later.

Gaga certainly isn't afraid of having runny mascara and that's one of the many things I love about her.

Lots of people pan the accents. They didn't bother me because I am not from Milan nor even NYC Little Italy, so I could care less. Am betting someone somewhere in the 1,000+ reviews panned Salma Hayek's accent.

The one person who quietly stole the show, for me, was Jack Huston. He was literally in the background during most of it, but if you watched him .... he was doing little things to keep your attention on him, quietly. I think he is one of the most under rated actors in the business today, so seeing him in this was a most pleasant surprise. And he gave the movie an extra star.

It's an interesting watch. A sad one would be more accurate. As long as you're not ultra sensitive to Milan accents.

Greetings again from the darkness. I've never purchased or owned anything Gucci, but that didn't prevent me from enjoying the heck out of Ridley Scott's film that brings the longest, most expensive and dangerous real life episode of 'Family Feud' to the big screen. It's co-written by Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna, and is based on the 2001 book, "House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed" by Sara Gay Forden. Brace yourself for a (mostly) true wild ride, and for what is likely to be one of the year's most divisive films - plenty of love and hate (just like the actual story).

What happens when a brand is so closely associated with a family name? The arguments begin on who 'deserves' to be a Gucci, who is a 'real' Gucci, and who should make the decisions that impact the Gucci family and business wealth and reputation. During the extended run time (2 hours, 37 minutes), we see many of the iconic Gucci items: the Flora scarf, the moccasins, the bamboo bag, and the watches. And though high fashion is always present, director Scott has delivered a spectacle of romance, family riffs, extravagance, greed, power, betrayal, revenge, and crime.

Lady Gaga (Oscar winner, A STAR IS BORN, 2018) stars as Patrizia, the newest Gucci. Hers is not blind ambition, but rather calculated and laser-focused. That she implodes a dysfunctional family is only a portion of the story. After marrying Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), Patrizia immediately begins manipulating her husband into reconciling with his family and taking on an active role in a business for which he previously had little interest. This is simply step two (the first was marriage) in her grand scheme to control the business and the money. Maurizio's father Rodolfo (Oscar winner Jeremy Irons, REVERSAL OF FORTUNE, 1990) is ailing, so it's Uncle Aldo (Oscar winner Al Pacino, SCENT OF A WOMAN, 1992) to whom Patrizia directs her attention. She plays it like a chess match - only this is more entertaining to watch unfold.

Also in the picture is Paolo Gucci (a truly unrecognizable Jared Leto, Oscar winner, DALLAS BUYERS CLUB), Aldo's son, and a family outcast. Paolo is a wildly creative individual who tends to his pet pigeons and tries desperately to find his place in the family. Jack Huston plays Dominico De Sole, Rodolfo's consigliere and the family attorney. Each of the characters is given their time in the spotlight, including a terrific breakfast scene with Pacino and Irons. Of course this is mostly Patrizia's story, so it's Lady Gaga's performance that will attract much of the attention and commentary. I found her mesmerizing and twisted fun to watch as she proceeded with backstabbing and trickery. Driver's quietly intense approach makes the perfect contrast to hers.

If you are familiar with the story, you know that Maurizio does eventually run the company, and he also tires of Patrizia's family-crushing antics ... which send him back into the arms of Paola Franchi (Camile Cottin, STILLWATER, 2021). This turns the campy and juicy melodrama factor up to 11 (on the Spinal Tap scale). Patrizia's frequent trips to fortune teller and TV psychic Pina Auriemma (Salma Hayek) cause a massive tonal shift in the film, leading to the well-documented conclusion. If all this isn't strange enough, Ms. Hayek is the real-life spouse of the CEO of Gucci's present-day parent company, Kering. Reeve Carney ("Penny Dreadful") has a small, yet vital role as up-and-coming fashion designer Tom Ford.

In this movie, it's easy to describe some performances as hammy or over-the-top, but that's likely to only hold as a first reaction. Leto's characterization of Paolo sticks out so much from the others ... but he was known as eccentric, and at best, was patronized by the family. It seems highly likely that his personality and approach stood in stark contrast to the old-school style of his father Aldo, or the more staid personalities of his Uncle Rodolfo and cousin Maurizio. Lady Gaga as Patrizia is cunning and shrewd in her calculated approach to re-structure the family and the business. She plays whatever games she must to get where she wants to be. I found her first half performance to be truly outstanding. Pacino is the actor who has trademarked hammy performances over the years, yet here, he fully grasps his role and character, and is a delight to watch.

Much of this is documented by history, though the Gucci family claims not all is or was how it seems. Whether the boost in counterfeiting/knock-offs went down in the 70's and 80's as it's portrayed here, might be an area worth researching, but this is much less a case study in business principles as it is one in family dynamics. I'll certainly understand those who argue against the story structure here, but the entertainment value proved to be enough for me. As the Gucci tagline goes, "Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten", but the backstabbing and disloyalty is never forgotten - despite providing great theater (and fashion).

Opens in theaters on November 24, 2021.

Taste is, of course, a unique thing. As I write this review "House of Gucci" has a score of 6.9 which is baffling to me, as the film I sat through last Saturday was an unmitigated disaster. One that's story is too boring to even allow you to enjoy the hilariously bad performances.

Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) meets Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) at a party. Maurizio is the son of Rodolfo Gucci (Jeremy Irons) who owns 50% of the family named fashion chain. Initially training to be a lawyer, Patrizia, along with his uncle Aldo, (Al Pacino) encourages Maurizio to join the family business. Very quickly, lines of division are drawn, and alliances and double crosses push Maurizio to the head of the company.

I am not the first person to come here and make fun of some of the performances. Adam Driver and Lady Gaga can leave with their reputations relatively unscathed, even if perhaps Gaga hones an accent that's a bit more Transylvanian than Milanese. Al Pacino and Jared Leto though are in a different film, with broad comedic performances that make the Dolmio adverts look like Mike Leigh in comparison.

I could, perhaps, forgive their choices if the overall film hung together better, but alas it doesn't. The story is glacial at some points, but at others either skips over or brushes through sections that are required to make the story make sense. Why do the police come after Maurizio as quickly as they do? How does the information about Aldo's taxes make it to the American authorities? What does Maurizio actually do, once he's taken control? Why does he abandon his wife and child after one brief argument? The story needs Patrizia to be Lady Macbeth, subtly twisting and cajoling her unwilling husband to power, before he turns on her and she extracts revenge. Instead though, Maurizio's whole personality changes in a moment, without that much justification, and he moves on without her. Also, I never really had the right feel for how much time has passed between scenes, and I'm not helped by the score, which seems to use anachronistic songs, but at others tries to evoke the period.

In lesser hands, this might be more forgivable, but this is Ridley Scott and we've come to expect more. This was, in no uncertain terms, a shambles.

Gaga delivers a stellar performance as Patrizia, melodramatic, yet full of charisma, loaded with personality, undeniable magnetism, and total commitment to her character. "House of Gucci" is Gaga's movie, make no mistake, and she won't let you forget it. Lady Gaga blow my mind with her performance. Brava, I say brava.

So, I love award shows for cinema. To celebrate achievements in film. This year is over-flowing full of fabulous female roles brought to life by their actress's . I thought no one would touch Jessica Chastain's Tammy Fay Baker. Then came the mesmerizing performance by Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana in the film Spencer. Well one must now seriously add Lady Gaga in the Oscar mix; as Patrizia Reggiani, played by a powerful Gaga ! A clear Oscar nomination for Lady Gaga .

Everything about this movie is over the top. The set design , cinematography , and let me just tell you the Gucci wardrobe is outrageous and divine. This is a very fun piece of dramatic cinema directed by Ridly Scott . The film just screams for the flamboyant performer and the superb cast just nails the excessiveness , exorbitance, extravagance, extravagancy, extravagantness, overabundance, of the world of Gucci . This is an absurdly excellent and entertaining film.

The second Ridley Scott film of this year is here! After his medieval epic The Last Duel flopped brilliantly at the box office, he can expect more in this respect with House of Gucci. Not only is Gucci one of the most famous and prestigious fashion brands, Lady Gaga is also in the lead role. I guess the strong fanbase of the singer will not be asked a second time. In the film, she suddenly finds herself part of the Gucci dynasty and becomes the protagonist of a toxic power struggle.

Yet Gaga is still a relative unknown in Hollywood-speak. She made her big breakthrough in the 2018 music film A Star is Born. Scott, as he did in The Last Duel, has assembled an incomparable star ensemble. Adam Driver, who seems to be establishing himself as the director's new darling, evergreens Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons and an unrecognisable Jared Leto embody the key roles in the Gucci clan. In addition, Salma Hayek emerges as a kind of mentor for Gaga's character. But who is Gaga playing anyway? She is the young and rebellious Patrizia Reggiani. An extroverted perennial who worms her way into the millionaire family with charm and fascination. She is courted by the ambitious Maurizio Gucci, played by Driver, who actually wants to leave the intrigues and sometimes shabby business dealings of his predecessors behind. Once he falls in love with Patrizia and marries her, he is left with no choice but to get involved again. Driver and Gaga share a very passionate chemistry in the first act, which you fully buy into with little dialogue and through pure body language. While Driver plays rather reserved and shy, this quality emanates especially from Gaga, who doesn't hold back in any of her intimate scenes. At least the two characters are able to unfold their own approaches here. But when Al Pacino's character Aldo Gucci, Maurizio's uncle, insists on his nephew's re-entry into the family business, the two lose all closeness to each other. Rather, it is only an extremely manipulative relationship that both actors have to show in a few scenes. All the more Aldo and his son Paolo Gucci, portrayed by Leto, come to the fore. From this point on, the film lapses into a few minutes of megalomania, largely due to Leto's performance. He is exclusively eccentric and desperate and all in all a tragic figure. Whether you find this Super Mario caricature brilliant or miserable is a matter of interpretation.

House of Gucci begins extremely quietly and shows the rise of the lovers in well-done visual sequences. The performances are generally fitting and although the film seems anti-Italian, I love it when Adam Driver cruises through Milan on his Vespa. But as interesting as the pecking order and hierarchy within the Gucci family is, from the second act onwards the film devolves into an overplayed and hyperactive tragedy that, despite the craziness of its scenes and actors, actually manages to be long-winded. Fashion, creativity and the business idea are not a theme at all, which in no way brings us closer to this brand that is so present. In the end we have a family epic (the film lasts 2 ½ hours), with exclusively unsympathetic characters. One more request to Ridley Scott: just let your actors speak English and don't embarrass them with Italian stereotypes with accents.

I was a little bit afraid of diving into this movie as it has an extensive running time of 154 minutes, which is a lot for a biographical drama, but I was pleasantly surprised by how immensely intriguing the story was.

The best part of the movie for me was its visual appeal. "House of Gucci" has something breathtaking in practically every frame and just for that it deserves a watch.

This movie would have been a much better movie if it was edited more tightly as at 2.37 hrs running time it was definitely too long and thus very slow and dreary. Besides this,everything else about the film especially the direction and acting were great,with Lady Gaga being particularly exceptional.

6/10.

'A Casa Gucci', new film by the award-winning and great director Ridley Scott is a film with good moments but with several problems, especially in the script, we have many great characters that are left without construction while we have repetitive scenes, the more than two and a half hours of film are poorly used, the chronological transitions are painful and the story that is contacted, at least in my personal opinion, was not what we expected, I wanted to see the history of the brand as a whole and we see only 20 years of it focused on the couple that acted partially in command of the operation, this large zoom in a small part of a great journey leaves a lot to be desired, we have no explanation of the climax, we do not have the construction of important facts, often, great events simply happen and change the direction of the film without any impact to the viewer.

Despite being better than the script, Ridley Scott's direction is confused, the director tries to use several techniques that don't talk, and in the end it looks like eight hours of film was recorded and they did an edit showing two and a half, because we have several continuity errors, strange transitions and bad use of the soundtrack, a soundtrack that is good, mainly its theme music, but as already mentioned, it is poorly used, the dark photography is a little frustrating too, but the costumes and makeup are good.

What saves "A casa Gucci" is its cast, which is really, very good, all the actors steal the film at different times, it's impossible to name one, because in each tempo zone we really have a great prominence in the performances, perhaps the only actor and character that expected a little more was the one played by Jared Leto, but still, it's good.

"The Gucci house" disappoints a little, as we have a great director ahead of the project and a very good cast, several scenes work well and even in the midst of the film's hurricane, we felt Ridley Scott in some scenes, especially in details, but it was nice to see good actors acting together with a confusing but charismatic art direction. GRADE 7/10.

It is not often I can sit completely still for 3 hours straight, but House of Gucci had me totally paralyzed with good actors, chict plot and a really nice setting. All the aesthetic parts about the movie really reflected the true face of Italy in the 90's from old cars to precise designs of jewlery and fashion. I really admire the director and his eye for the lifestyle shown in the movie, he sure is an artist. The fact that the movie is based on a true story is both fascinating and intreging and I believe the Gucci-case is something extra ordinary and not something you hear about that often.

However, I have to say that Adam Driver as Maurizio Gucci unfortunately did not meet up to my expectations regarding the actors... In his defense though, it is hard to appear as a exceptional actor in a movie starring Al Pacino and Lady Gaga.

To sum things up, I really appreciated the movie and the cast, this is a movie everyone should see and be inspired of.

After watching "House of Gucci", I know ambition and the thirst for gold can be so fiercely boundless they would drive anyone to the most extreme corners. I could believe it thanks to the performance of... Jared Leto!

How he transformed himself into Jeffrey Tambor's clone is already an achievement in transformation, but Leto wanted more, he wanted the golden statuette and when you're in the supporting department surrounded by Jeremy "Scar" Irons and Al "Scarface" Pacino as patriarch brothers Rodolfo and Aldo Gucci, it's a whole new level of over-the-top that you've got to reinvent.

Leto's embodiment of Aldo's worthless son Paolo is the kind of self-deprecating prowess to be seen to be believed. Trust me: he might have been a mediocre designer but every single scene with him was designed as an Oscar clip. Every second of each moment with Leto contains a mimic, a look, a grimace, a dancing, a crazy laugh, anything begging us to notice him... and only him. Leto is the film's scene-stealer.

In fact, he doesn't steal the show but the whole movie, all the pathos invested in that performance, making Fredo Corleone look like Al Capone, is one of the most joyously campy performances I've seen since "Mommie Dearest" and I I hated him... not because he was bad, but because he was so desperately good at stealing the show he might have stolen Al Pacino's chances to get his tenth Oscar nomination.

Yes, I'm a Pacino fan and he was the reason I couldn't wait for the film, but ever since the second trailer's release, he didn't seem to get any attention although I believe he deserves a few praises. Anyway, I have nothing against Leto getting an Oscar nomination as long as Pacino pulls a Joe Pesci in "The Irishman". And both bring so much life in what could have been a rather grim story that the way I see it, either you award both or no one.. well, except for the Razzies.

Sorry to fill the review with awards talk but let's not kid ourselves, this is a star-studded biopic released at the end of the year... ever since the project was announced, everyone was waiting for Thanksgiving and not for Black Friday but the Black widow plated by Lady Gaga. Fans are already lobbying for her Oscar win this time (the nomination is obvious). And you know what, they're right! Adam Driver effaces himself magically as a passive, undecided, husband too nice to be a lawyer let alone venturing in the jungle-like fashion world... with a lionness for a wife.

And so the real Driver is Patrizia Reggiani, a fiercely ambitious woman who once landed her eyes on Maurizio knew she would marry him. In fact, once she knew his surname. Gaga's performance is a masterstroke of subtltety, notice how her look shifts when Maurizio says "Gucci", perhaps 75% of his charm, her courting is certainly the best example of a woman playing easy-to-get and yet there's something genuinely sincere in her act that contradicts the way the trailer exposed her as a villain. She's venal all right, but that doesn't prevent her from truly loving her husband and wishing to elevate him. Alas, she realizes very quickly that the curse of the Gucci family is just as if the Corleone had only Fredos in charge. Maurizio, is more Hagen-like, he who's definitely not cut for business wartime.

But Patrizia, what a woman! And Gaga is so natural in that role that I noticed she didn't just have the talents, but the looks as well. After that and "A Star is Born", I wish she could drop the whole Gaga extravaganza and be herself, it's not just in the film, she has something of Liz Taylor. In other words, she's a natural. And she's so good that she makes the film's flaws more apparent. Forget about Leto's clownish manners, forget about Pacino, Pacino's good, problem's pacing.

That's where the film doesn't play in the league of Ridley Scott's classics, he seems to have shot the film quickly to match the holiday schedules. Fair enough but the editing suffered a little, some scenes cut abruptly, the transition of Aldo Gucci from an ally to a liability feels odd. But the real problem is the way Patrizia turns into a supporting character during the third act. Some critics pointed that the film is too long, I would nuance that statement, it takes so much time building the relationship that the film can't afford her disappearance for too long. Yes, it's that pint-sized lady that carries the film more than all the other male-cast combined (even Salma Hayek is totally overshadowed by her aura)

There are some good performances in the last act with honorable mentions to Jack Huston, Youssef Kerkour and to a lesser degree, Camille Cottin who's given an even more thankless role than Driver... but there's too much elements slowing down the film instead of building up its way to the deadly climax. For all the efforts pulled by Gaga, the ending seems anticlimactic and needlessly depressing while it needed a little cynical edge to it. What it does get with the final line and obligatory 'where are there now?'.

Anyway, if people compared the film to "The Godfather" I think it's closer in spirit to "Goodfellas" and all these period films that use timely pop songs to bring the musical texture of the era. I won't speak of the accents but sometimes Scott insist a little too much on the "Italian" factor and that comes from an opera fan. Anyway, to stay in that spirit, let me say: "Veni. Vidi. Gucci". I came, I saw, I didn't yawn, I might have cringed here and there but overall, I enjoyed it.

It could have been better but let me tell you this film will still be remembered in a few decades, I'd bet my annual salary... which wouldn't buy one pair of Gucci's second-hand socks.

Lady Gaga overacted the entire time and there were a countless number of dialogue scenes that didn't go anywhere/didn't progress the story. It was genuinely one of the most dragged out movies I've ever seen.

I watched it at the cinema, and even though it's 2 hours 37 minutes, it kept me interested and I had a fun time enjoying it for what it was, a crazy and eccentric extravaganza I don't think they were trying to take it too seriously. The acting was great, Lady Gaga shines, and the music made me want to.move around in my seat. Paolo had lines that made me laugh and he was completely unrecognizable as Jared Leto. Based on a true story that I didn't know, I'm glad I saw this film.

It is crazy to me that this was considered one of the best pieces of cinema released last year. Granted, the performances of Adam Driver, Lady Gaga, and Al Pacino were quite good. Driver does a good job of portraying a shy and unassuming Mr Gucci, and the character's conflict as different forces try to influence him. It is difficult to figure out what Gaga's character motives are, and i believe that is to her credit. She brings the Italian passion that seems to have been lost by the other characters. Moreover, Gaga's accent was the only one convincingly Italian, most of the rest are comically bad. In one particular scene, it appears that Gaga is stifling a laugh of her own while in conversation with Jared Leto's caricature (no, thats not a spelling mistake). Having graduated from the jar jar binks school of performing arts, with an S (for Super Mario), he masterfully pulls me out of my immersion in every scene.

Equally, the script supervisor needs an espresso. In one particular scene, where Pacino's character is signing a document, his glasses teleport to and from his face, and he uncaps his pen twice.

However, these moments are always in front of a gorgeous backdrop, drenched in gold, silk and Italian leather. Janty Yates must have had a field day with costumes. I was ooing and aahing at every single outfit and I was similarly enamoured with the Italian villas, snowy Swiss chalets and vintage vehicles.

This fur coat, no knickers approach did leave me feeling quite empty. As though I had walked into a museum of Gucci. Overall this isn't a bad movie. It's even a good movie. I like it. I believe 6/10 is fair. Its better than the average movie, but not by a large margin.

House of Gucci is a new crime drama directed by Ridley Scott, the director of Gladiator and Alien.

The film is inspired by true events surrounding the family behind the Italian fashion house Gucci. When Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) begins a relationship with the outsider Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), he is disinherited by his father Rodolfo Gucci (Jeremy Irons). He suspects that Patrizia is behind Maurizio's family money. That's how the two have to make it without the support of the Gucci family. Years later, the two are married and have a child together. Maurizio's uncle Aldo Gucci (Al Pacino) thus contacts him again and brings him back into the family business. The Gucci fashion house is once again going under multiple names, leading to creative differences, exposing betrayal, revenge and even murder cases.

There have been many changes in the making of this film. Martin Scorsese, for example, could have directed the film at first, but Ridley Scott was eventually given a directing position. Together with the casting directors, he also had many ideas for the casting of the roles before they finally came to the chosen actors and actresses.

After the many changes in casting and direction, they probably should have looked back at the writing crew of the film, because the final script was written by more novice writers, which can sometimes be seen in the film. The story can sometimes seem a bit messy and so long-winded, because the story makes many jumps in time. Some relationships come across as rushed, which can cause some loss of credibility.

What comes out best in the film about a well-known fashion brand is therefore the costumes and make-up of the characters. Janty Yates can expect film award nominations for this. Still, the film has received complaints from actual members of the Gucci family that the relatives were better dressed in real life compared to the actors in the film. They also credibly convey the places where the story takes place.

Al Pacino comes out the best of the film cast and knows how to provide the best and most believable accent compared to the entire cast. Lady Gaga and Adam Driver have good chemistry together in the film, but their relationship sometimes comes across as weak. Patrizia is clearly showing signs that she is more behind the Gucci family's money than she really loves Maurizio. Their accents can also come across as a bit unusual. Lady Gaga has more of an Eastern European accent than real Italian. Her characters seem to come more from Russia in some scenes. Of the entire cast, Salma Hayek is the only one who has received help with speaking in the correct accent. This is probably because she is married to the man who now owns the Gucci brand. If they had helped the entire cast a little more with their accents in the film, they would have come across a bit more like people from the same country. Who even seems to play in a completely different film is Jared Leto, because in the film he wears a fattening costume and also has a strange shaved hair style. In the film, he comes across as too exaggerated compared to the rest and speaks excessively in a high-pitched voice. He sometimes sounds just like the video game character Mario.

Good story in the most part well told and well acted, apart from Jared leto who in my opinion should never be let onto another movie set after this, it was overacting at its worst and slightly ruined the whole thing for me.