In the first act of “The Gucci Family,” Ridley Scott’s recent film, the Aldo and Rodolfo brothers of the Gucci family debate the future sales strategy of the fashion empire. Aldo suggests they start selling in malls, Rodolfo refuses – what to serve in a cemetery and what do they have in malls? Of course in the end, the prestigious brand of the Italian family also came to the malls, and here it comes again. This time with the movie “Gucci House”, which went up in theaters and therefore also in malls, which populate most of these halls around the world.
The story of the Gucci family is what is called a story that has it all – glittery clothes, astronomical sums of money and family intrigue. It’s a story that had to become a book, and it happened in 2001, with Sarah J. Forden’s book boasting the subdued name “Gucci House: The Sensation of Murder, Madness, Glamor and Greed.” The book had to someday become a movie, and that too happened in the end. The production was launched in 2006, and many stars were mentioned as possible candidates to play Patricia Gucci, the most scandalous character in the family. Eventually, the pur fell on Lady Gaga.
Lady Gaga is ideally portrayed as an outsider, and such is her character here, born Patricia Martinelli – a poor young woman from northern Italy who never knew her biological father. She met Mauricio Gucci, the family’s heir apparent played by Adam Driver, by chance at a party. He married her despite the opposition of his elitist father Rudolfo, who was horrified that his future mind did not differentiate between the painters Klimt and Picasso.
“Gucci House” begins as a sort of borax film, in which Rudolfo threatens to deprive Maurizio of his will due to his romantic choice; Becomes a telenovela, in which Patricia proves to those who despised her that she is far more cunning than they thought; Continues as a black comedy about the family’s black sheep, Paolo, played by Jared Leto, who is mentioned as a leading Oscar nominee in the supporting actor category for his role here; And ends as a mafia thriller.
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Just as the film changes colors, so too does family control change hands. The script best describes this, and illustrates that life is a wheel. One can only imagine what a manipulative and pretentious director like Paulo Sorrentino, for example, would have done with such a story. He would probably have used subtitles and other artificial means to separate one chapter from another. Ridley Scott does not, and respects the audience enough to understand on their own.
This is Scott’s second film to come out in recent months. It was preceded by “The Last Duel.” At 83, his mastery of the cinematic technique is more skilled than ever, and he seems to enjoy every moment. Even when the direction is sinful in bad taste, it seems to be done on purpose. This soap opera allows the director to rave not only with family sensations, but also with colorful clothes and even more colorful acting displays.
Even before it was released, “Gucci House” drew fire. Despite the family’s ethnic identity, almost all the actors are not Italian, nor do they look like one. Adam Driver, for example, does not look like he plays Maurizio Gucci, but Leonard Cohen in the 1970s. Only two here are original Italians: El Pacino, who has been doing Aldo Gucci one of his best roles in recent years; And Lady Gaga, who actually leaves a less “authentic” impression of all. She looks like Hanan Asrawi, and speaks with a Russian accent.
It sounds bad, but in the end, the casting and weird accents help the film break the corny stereotypes when it comes to representing Italians on American screens. Yes, as in “Godfather” and all its imitations and parodies, here too there are a lot of emotions and connections with organized crime, but beyond that, you will not find the clichés of the genre. The actors and actresses look and sound different, and the characters do not kiss each other on the palm and exchange recipes for ziti. Were it not for the name “Gucci”, it would have been easy to forget that this is an Italian family.
As befits a 157-minute film, the Gucci House also has less interesting moments, but in the end it is fun and entertaining. However, at the end of the viewing the question arises – why did we actually see it? What’s the point? Possible answer: “Gucci House” is a film about the difference between good taste and bad taste, high and low, high fashion and bottom fashion. Time and time again, the script explores these boundaries, for example with the scene where Patricia is shocked to discover that imitations of the family brand are sold in the market, with a parable Paulo tells about the similarities and differences between shit and chocolate, and of course with the same debate about Gucci’s place in malls or No.
Laughter of Fate: Today Gucci and other fashion houses can only beg that malls not kick them out, and the same is true of movie theaters. With the shift to online shopping and streaming, malls no longer need the trendy luxury brand or Hollywood, they have more lucrative sources of income. Ridley Scott’s next film will probably already be about intrigue in the ice cream world.
Avner Shavit is the film critic of Walla!
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