On Thursday, December 2, Ridley Scott's crime drama Gucci House was released in Russia.
The main roles in the tape were played by Lady Gaga and Adam Driver, with whom Scott previously collaborated on the "Last Duel" project.
Jared Leto, Al Pacino, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Irons and others also starred in the film.
The picture is based on real events described in the book by Sarah Gay Forden "House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamor and Greed", but she will not tell the audience a lot about the origin and formation of the brand. The tape spans over 25 years, but it only presents the main and most scandalous milestones in Gucci's history. Above all, the focus of filmmakers is the relationship between Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), one of the famous family members, with his wife Patricia Reggiani (Lady Gaga).
The events begin at the moment the heroes meet at one of the parties, where Patricia learns the name of the interlocutor and immediately becomes sympathetic to him.
The girl from the first shots is presented as an experienced manipulator and a hunter for money and power, however, among all the characters, it is she, thanks to her directness and determination, that arouses sympathy in the viewer.
Patricia throws all her strength to grab the attention of Maurizio, and at the same time acts extremely intrusive.
A significant part of the film is a kind of pickup lessons from Reggiani, simple and very funny, but in this case, quite effective.
Further on the screen, the love story of Patricia and Maurizio unfolds from marriage to separation and subsequent murder.
Shot from the film "House of Gucci"
© kinopoisk.ru
The release of the film is already associated with a scandal.
The prototypes of the heroes and their descendants criticized the project, which is understandable: on the screen, all members of the Gucci family are presented in a sharply negative light.
So, Maurizio looks like a naive simpleton, easily amenable to manipulation and practically not versed in business, and Paolo (Jared Leto) - a madman.
Aldo performed by Al Pacino turned out to be more or less adequate, but he does not differ in the foresight necessary for the head of a fashion house.
Patricia, on the other hand, at some point begins to seem like a victim who is trying to find her place in the "business not for girls", but Ridley Scott abandons this line as soon as he starts.
In addition, the screen features Gucci scams, tax fraud, support for the production of cheap fakes of the brand's goods, and plagiarism.
Given that the other side of the business is not shown in principle, the audience may get the impression that the empire was built exclusively in illegal ways.
On the other hand, it is unlikely that someone will seriously decide to identify the heroes of the "House of Gucci" with prototypes: the on-screen representatives of the family are too exaggerated and caricatured, which is accurately conveyed through excellent acting and emphasized thoughtful images.
This approach to portraying characters and interpreting events turns the biographical tape into a farce.
All this looks fun and exciting from the point of view of an audience that has nothing to do with real events, but inevitably it will offend those who participated in them.
Shot from the film "House of Gucci"
© kinopoisk.ru
Despite the impressive timing - "House of Gucci" runs for more than 2.5 hours - it's easy to watch the film.
Captures, first of all, the first half of the project, dedicated to the manipulations of Patricia.
They are funny in themselves, but they look especially impressive when played by Lady Gaga, who has managed to convincingly convey the bright temperament of her heroine.
By the time Patricia and Maurizio parted, the plot subsided, but not for long: the narrative was saved by the appearance of an almost unknown at that time Tom Ford, who revived the brand and began to get bored with the film.
The study of motivation and changes in the characters' characters is also pleasing.
For example, the decision of Patricia to "order" her husband does not raise any questions - given her character and limited views, which the filmmakers repeatedly focus on, such a turn seems quite possible.
The new novel by Maurizio also lends itself to explanation.
Poorly argued except that the transformation of the protagonist.
Throughout almost the entire history of a harmless simpleton, at some point he abruptly changes his attitude to what is happening, which has a strong influence on his life, as well as on the fate of Patricia.
Interested viewers can find for themselves several possible reasons for this development of events, but none of them seems convincing.
Naturally, Gucci's film focuses on style. The action of the first half of the film takes place in Italy - almost every frame looks like a postcard depicting beautiful girls with makeup, hairstyles, dresses in the style of the 1970s and 1980s, and heels, even where they are out of place. Handsome Italians in expensive trousers are playing American football on the lawn in front of a chic villa, vintage cars, designer bags and flashy jewelry are constantly flashing in the frame, and Italian music sounds off-screen. However, all this did not help to accurately recreate the atmosphere of the country of those years, recognizable from the films of the classics.
The action of the second half of the tape has been moved primarily to the United States.
This part of the film seems more organic: on the screen New York of the 1970s and 1980s, familiar to viewers from many other films, but, like everything in "Gucci House", very artsy.
Here, in everything one can see exceptional luxury, and somewhere vulgarity, corresponding to both the characters of the heroes and the general tone of the story.