House of Gucci Parent Guide

In reviewing House of Gucci, I struggle with a single question: Is this film a soap opera or a Shakespearean tragedy? It has elements of both: a scheming woman, a man corrupted by ambition, and plenty of adultery, treachery, fraud, and murder. The production feels too polished for a soap opera but not profound enough for Shakespeare. It is, however, an intriguing story that shows the truth of the Bard’s words, “Virtue is chok’d with foul ambition.”

Based on real events, the film begins in Milan in the 1970s when young Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) unexpectedly meets Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), scion of the famous fashion house. After charming him at a party, Patrizia ensures that she runs into him again. Maurizio is a quiet law student and he is dazzled by the lively, flirtatious, sexy young woman and soon marries her. Disowned by his father, Maurizio is content working for the Reggiani trucking business, but Patrizia has bigger dreams. She’s married into the Gucci family and has no plans to molder away in middle class obscurity. Building a tentative friendship with Aldo Gucci, Patrizia lays the groundwork for Maurizio’s return to the family business and for a series of betrayals that will destroy the family and end in murder.

There’s no denying that House of Gucci offers a riveting viewing experience. The acting can’t be beat and Lady Gaga plays her passionate, grasping character with feline grace. Al Pacino as Aldo Gucci and Jeremy Irons as his brother Rodolfo bring weary wisdom and ruthlessness to their mission to protect both family members and the Gucci empire. The weak spot in the cast is Jared Leto whose portrayal of Paolo Gucci falls over the line from character to caricature. He hams it up, creating a character who feels cheesy instead of pathetic and unprotected.

As for production values, they are as shiny and glossy as would be expected for a movie about the inner machinations of a luxury business. The homes in Italy and Switzerland boast stunning architecture and landscaping while the wardrobes manage to make even the 1970s and 1980s look elegant. If you like period films, this will give you an eyeful of late 20^th century design.

Unfortunately, the movie also comes with a trunk full of negative content. There are two dozen sexual expletives and frequent scenes of drinking and smoking. There is a scene of domestic violence and one of a man being shot. And there’s lots of sexual content. One sex scene shows Lady Gaga’s buttocks before her character has highly aerobic sex on a desk with her husband. The R rating for the movie is appropriate and should be taken seriously.

At the beginning of the film, Patrizia says of the Guccis, “It was a name that sounded so sweet. So seductive. Synonymous with wealth and power…The last name was a curse too.” There is a certain morbid fascination in watching this calculating woman exploit the weaknesses in her new family to serve her own ends. The family carries the seeds of its own destruction but there’s no doubt that Patrizia’s ruthlessness is the spark that lights the flame.