Ridley Scott's latest release, House of Gucci, is a movie all about scandal. The story follows Lady Gaga's Patrizia Reggiani as she decides to murder her husband Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), the grandson of the famous designer Guccio Gucci. But the real Gucci family has since come out with a scathing statement denouncing their portrayal in the new movie.
Universal and United Artists' House of Gucci was released in theaters to much hype at the end of November and has received many positive reviews since, especially for its starry cast. However, even before its debut, the real-life Patrizia Gucci had some harsh words to say about the casting of Al Pacino in the role of one-time president of the company, Aldo Gucci. Her gripe was with a picture that appeared of Pacino on set, about which she said, "this photo shows him as fat, short, with sideburns, really ugly," going on to conclude there was no resemblance. Don't hold back, Patrizia. This perhaps should have prepared Scott for the family statement that was to come.
The heirs of Aldo Gucci issued the statement first through Italian news agency ANSA, and a translated copy has been obtained by Variety. According to the family, at no point were they consulted before the movie portrayed them as "thugs, ignorant and insensitive to the world around them," which they take to be an "insult to the legacy on which the brand is built today." Their main complaint appears to be with Lady Gaga's portrayal of Patrizia in House of Gucci and the character's framing by the movie as a victim of a patriarchal world. The family especially takes umbrage with the suggestion that the company was a toxic place for women and that it operated with a "macho corporate culture," which, according to them, "couldn't be further from the truth." They go on in the statement to point out that several women were in top positions in the company during the 1980s, the era in which the film is set. There were no further words on whether the cast's heights were acceptable or not.
Scott is no stranger to controversy or complaints and seems largely unphased with the family's lengthy statement. In an interview with Total Film, he called the family "alarmingly insulting" about the cast, retorting with, “How could they be better represented than by Al Pacino? Excuse me! You probably have the best actors in the world, you should be so f***ing lucky.” He also defended Jared Leto's performance, which has been criticized as an over-the-top caricature, saying critics are missing the camp comedy of his acting and his satirizing of the world the character inhabits.
It may be hard, however, for some to see the comedic side of a tragic murder story. The Gucci family's statement even refers to the portrayal of events in the film as "extremely painful from a human point of view." But despite the Gucci family's scathing disapproval of the movie, it is sure to continue doing well at the box office (unlike Scott's The Last Duel), and will certainly be one to watch when it comes to awards season.
House of Gucci is now playing in theaters.
Source: Variety