Ridley Scott is back with his second two-and-a-half-hour fact-based drama in the space of two months. Following the somber, Rashomon-esque multi-perspective storytelling of his medieval epic The Last Duel, Scott has tackled the events leading up to the murder of Maurizio Gucci in a stylish crime thriller with a healthy dose of pitch-black humor.

In her first film role since A Star is Born, Lady Gaga stars as Patrizia Reggiani, an unscrupulous parvenu who marries the young Gucci heir (Adam Driver, reteaming with Scott after The Last Duel) and proceeds to tear the family apart in the hopes of expanding her newfound fortune.

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Some critics have described House of Gucci as a fashion version of The Godfather. As a saga of infighting, betrayal, and murder within a sprawling Italian family, it’s easy to see parallels with The Godfather in broad strokes. A virtually unrecognizable Jared Leto, who looks like Dr. Phil under all his makeup and prosthetics, gives a hilarious scene-stealing turn as Paolo Gucci, the family’s resident Fredo-style buffoon. But, with its brisk pacing, stylistic flourishes, dynamite soundtrack, and compelling voiceover narration, a more apt mob movie comparison might be Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas.

Anchored By Spectacular Performances

Lady Gaga wearing sunglasses in House of Gucci

Like Scott’s previous film, House of Gucci is anchored by spectacular performances. Gaga disappears into the role of a social climber blinded by ambition, nailing not only the tricky accent but also the complicated emotions that would lead a scorned spouse to take out a hit on her husband. Driver’s nuanced turn as seemingly mild-mannered Maurizio puts a nerdy spin on the familiar arc of the wayward son who gradually drops all his charms and scruples as he’s drawn into the family business. After being burdened with post-Endgame exposition in Marvel’s Eternals, Salma Hayek lets loose in the role of TV psychic Pina, while Al Pacino gives a delightfully eccentric performance as overinvolved uncle Aldo.

One of the real stars of the movie is costume designer Janty Yates, who’s collaborated with Scott on more than 10 films since her Oscar-winning work on Gladiator. What the characters wear is a significant part of any movie, but especially when that movie is about one of the fashion industry’s most renowned dynasties. Yates dresses the cast of House of Gucci in suave suits, snappy turtlenecks, and eye-popping dresses, each more extravagant than the last.

Unlike fellow filmmakers Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson, Scott isn’t known for filling his soundtracks with licensed hits. His most famous movies – Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator – have iconic original scores. But the soundtrack of House of Gucci is filled with energizing needle-drops. Scott immerses audiences in the historical milieu with catchy contemporary hits like Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love,” and an Italian-language version of the Monkees’ “I’m a Believer.”

The Right Balance Of Satire And Soap Opera

Jared Leto smiling in House of Gucci

This was clearly a difficult story to tell in a prestige, awards-season format. The stories of rich relatives swiping at each other’s share of the pot, bending the law to avoid inheritance tax, and one spouse recruiting assassins to bump off the other spouse could all be ripped straight from a far-fetched soap opera. This is one of the reasons why the movie has languished in development hell for so long.

Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna’s script struggles to strike the right tone in some spots, but it ultimately finds a nice balance between empathizing with the Gucci family’s troubles and satirizing their absurd levels of wealth and excess. It’s not overly comedic or overly dramatic – it rests somewhere in the middle.

The humor isn’t as prominent or heavy-handed as fellow one-percent satire The Wolf of Wall Street, with Scott instead finding laughs in subtle human moments. Leto goes for laughs whenever he’s on-screen (and it mostly lands), but House of Gucci is a drama above all. Tragic situations like a patriarch contracting a terminal illness or a husband and father callously walking out on his family are treated with the seriousness they deserve.

It Takes The Story Seriously – But Not At The Expense Of Fun

Adam Driver and Lady Gaga in House of Gucci

It would’ve been easy to make House of Gucci as a full-blown dark comedy leaning into the absurdity of the story. A wife hiring two guys to shoot her husband dead sounds too crazy to be true. But going for a straightforward comedic tone would ignore the fact that this was a real-life murder involving real-life people. As crazy as it is, it really happened, and Gaga surprisingly humanizes Patrizia in the emotional journey that brings her to the point of hiring hitmen.

But at the same time, the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a fun, stylish, wildly entertaining crime epic chronicling larger-than-life characters, unbelievable true events, and the blood-soaked downfall of a family dynasty.

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