REVIEW: House of Gucci

This first part of the review is spoiler-free, but keep in mind that there will be a short part at the end where I'm going to discuss some scenes of the movie. Skip that part if you don't want to read any details about the movie.

A few days ago, I had the privilege to attend the first premiere of Lady Gaga's upcoming movie, "House of Gucci", in London. Lady Gaga herself attended the event, along with her co-stars Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Salma Hayek, and Jeremy Irons. The event made the whole city vibrate like few events in the past. People climbed up to the rooftops of the pubs around the square just to get a glimpse of the star that everyone was waiting for. 

And then she arrived. A sexy fierce queen dressed in purple walked right inside the theater knowing that everyone was just waiting for her and the performance that she was about to deliver. 

With the stars in the audience, the screening was filled with cheer and applause periodically during memorable scenes. Even Gaga herself dared to start a round of applause for Jeremy Irons and Salma Hayek during two different epic scenes.

As soon as the movie ended, a 5-minute long standing ovation followed the credits scenes, leaving everyone discussing their opinions about the movie.

House of Gucci, the 27th movie from iconic director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Hannibal, Prometheus), has everything you need and more, but also lots of things that you didn’t ask for and that maybe will make you fall in love.

The movie is lots of things: it’s fun, it’s dramatic, it’s exaggerated, it’s long, and it’s super entertaining. But, it’s also very different from what you expect, and will surely make some eyes roll from the very beginning, though no one can deny that it stands out and sets itself apart from any recent movies you might have seen.

House of Gucci is long enough to allow the director to make the mood of the whole movie switch multiple times from vibes of “Marriage Story” to “American Crime Story: Versace” and then again from “Green Book” to “Knives Out”. This movie has everything and more, and Ridley managed to keep the rhythm of the movie so engaging, that time flies and you never get bored, not even for a minute.

Lady Gaga is sensational. She makes you laugh, she makes you cry, and she makes you gasp so many times, that you almost start rooting for her. The way she portrayed Patrizia is something that she has never done before; not only does she give the character an insane depth, she also makes you connect to her story in such a deep way that you almost feel like you are seeing the rise and fall of a close relative. It is light years away from the character of Ally (A star is Born), and just a few planets away from The Countess (American Horror Story). Lady Gaga manages to give this new alter-ego her own life.

Even if it might take a few scenes for Lady Gaga & Adam Driver’s chemistry to shine, as the film progresses it becomes something so real, that it feels like you’ve been struggling with their story as well, as if you lived it with them.

I might say that It is a different story for Al Pacino. Each scene with the legendary actor is just perfection. The man is so great that everyone around him becomes great as well, even the funny (albeit sometimes out of place) Jared Leto, to whom the director reserved the role of the funny/dummy sidekick. 

What stands out the most, is the chemistry between Lady Gaga and Salma Hayek. The friendship they built behind the scenes is so real, that it turned into a sensational connection in all their scenes together that you almost desire to see a Netflix spin-off of their adventures.

I’m almost certain that the general public will LOVE this movie a lot. Twitter stans will eat it up instantly, thanks to the plenty of iconic scenes with funny and shady moments. 

It might not become a viral blockbuster, but it’s also right that way. House of Gucci is meant to be an experimental movie that will divide the critics, but it will surely make everyone entertained and mark another milestone in Lady Gaga’s career with a second, and well-deserved, Best Actress Oscar nomination. 

Minor Spoiler Section.

The critiques I offer towards the film, are from rumors that were born during the making of the movie. Lady Gaga does not break the 4th wall and she definitely does not narrate the movie. She just introduces the movie with the speech you hear in the trailer, but that’s it. This weird rumor made my hype decrease a little bit, even if you realize later that it would be totally out of place.

A funny thing that you can notice about this movie (remembering the candids from the sets of a few months ago), is that almost all the scenes have been recorded in the same order that they appear in the film. It explains so well why the whole movie becomes better and better the more it goes forward. Although the cast (and their chemistry) doesn’t sparkle in the first scenes, it solidifies and shines brighter than the sun later in the movie. That does highlight the audience’s feeling of growth along with the relationships themselves, as we see them blossom on screen throughout the film. 

The big debate and critiquing of Gaga’s accent shouldn’t even exist when the other actors paled in comparison with theirs (except for Al Pacino of course). On the contrary, her accent is super credible and also very accurate, especially in these scenes where she has to talk in Italian.

A disappointment regarding the film is that many scenes of the trailer are not in the movie, and some of the most iconic scenes are cut. The part where she talks about “unconventional punishments” isn’t there, nor the disco scene with the blue outfit and the drag queens, nor the newest scene of gaga's incident.

What makes the movie a bit unconventional is that the first part is super fast, meanwhile, the second part is diluted over many years and they give you time to process them. 

If Gaga’s acting doesn’t convince you at first, trust me, it will later in the movie with all scenes that fit her the best. Especially the dramatic ones. Towards the end, you can see Patrizia broken, and suffering while surviving in a way that you empathise with her so much that you have to applaud the remarkable acting by Gaga. She has solicited her title as Actress.

What I loved the most about her performance is that Patrizia gets labeled as a “gold digger” instantly, and for the whole movie, Lady Gaga makes you believe that she was not just that, but someone way more profound and real.  

Many will take the opportunity to trash this movie and compare it to A Star is Born because the chemistry between the two main actors is way too different from the chemistry that Gaga and Bradley had; but that would be like comparing “The Fame” with “Love For Sale”. Two different projects, with two different meanings, made with different purposes. Even if this movie won’t have the same magnitude as the previous one, it will surely be remembered as the one that turned Lady Gaga into a more mature and accomplished actress. 

- Matteo, LGN