House of Gucci is a story filled with love, lies, betrayal and death. Based on the true story of Patrizia Reggiani and Maurizio Gucci in the late ’80s and early ’90s, the movie is an engrossing and attention-catching film. However, as an Italian and self-proclaimed film buff, I must say that there were a few plot points that missed the mark.
The House of Gucci story is told through the perspective of Patrizia as she falls in love with Maurizio for his dashing looks and, of course, his myriad of wealth. With a star-studded cast, Lady Gaga as Patrizia, Adam Driver as Maurizio, and the unrecognizable Jared Leto as Paolo Gucci, the movie follows the couple as they face pushback from the Gucci family, rise to wealth and learn how to balance the dynamic of their newfound status, all while the family disapproves of Patrizia. She is bold and manipulative, while Maurizio is portrayed as quiet and intellectual. Ridley Scott exposes the spectacle that unfolds between them as they bask in the untold luxury of being a Gucci and drama that eventually becomes bloody.
Nearly all of the actors in House of Gucci are Americans putting on Italian accents — Gaga and Driver pretty believably, but their virtually unrecognizable co-star Jared Leto sounds more ridiculous. As Paolo Gucci, he’s a caricature so off-the-wall that it sucks you out of the film and becomes the comic relief throughout the movie. As a second-gen Italian myself, I have to say that the accents and any Italian that was spoken were truly cringeworthy. For a multi-million dollar budget movie, you’d think that the writers wouldn’t have used Google Translate.
Overall, the movie was a fun watch but not necessarily adored by the critics. I was enthralled with the story but realized after a little bit of research that the timeline was way off and the portrayal of Maurizio was far too nice for how he acted in real life. House of Gucci was an attention-catching story of enormous wealth and power, luxury and sex, but don’t believe everything you see on the screen without doing your research.