It’s only a few weeks since Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel was in cinemas and now another of his films, House of Gucci has been released. It again stars Adam Driver, this time as Maurizio Gucci, the heir to the fashion brand. He meets and falls in love with Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) who has come from a much humbler background. She schemes to enable her now husband take full control of the company and she shows the same ruthlessness when Maurizio betrays her.
From what I know, this sticks near enough to the true story. Lady Gaga, after her brilliant turn in A Star is Born, is again superb. Seductive and scary, it is a bravura performance. Driver is good as well, his more restrained style works well in comparison.
The rest of the cast fare less well. Jeremy Irons as Maurizio’s father struggles to keep his accent in one place and Al Pacino, playing his brother, is in full over the top mode. However, he does show flashes of his genius, unlike Jared Leto, as his son, who provides his second excruciatingly bad performance this year. Having tried to ruin, The Little Things, he makes the same attempt here with his flashy overacting.
The story did keep my attention, especially in the latter stages, but at 158 minutes it is at least half an hour too long.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10