Bursting with bling, ‘House of Gucci’ tells the feud behind fashion

LOS ANGELES, November 19 (Reuters) – Bold, beautiful to look at and brimming with star power, “House of Gucci” brings the extraordinary story of the family feud behind the Italian fashion brand to the big screen.

Starring Lady Gaga as an ambitious outsider who marries into his family only to kill his partner, the film opens next Thursday in the United States and beyond tells a tale of decadence, betrayal, and revenge.

Gaga, whose parents are of Italian descent, plays Patrizia Reggiani, who marries heir to the fashion dynasty Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) but ends up booking a hit job on her husband after he divorces him for another woman. Reggiani is serving 18 years in prison in Italy for the 1995 crime.

Jeremy Irons, who plays the patriarch Rodolfo Gucci, said the story was unbearable.

“It’s an incredible line. It’s bold, and brash and blingy, Italian,” he said. “And then one of them went and shot the other. How did that happen? . . . It’s an amazing story.”

Directed by Ridley Scott and also starring Al Pacino, Jared Leto and Salma Hayek, this film traces the ups and downs of the Gucci brand from the heady days of the Italian dolce vita in the 1960s to its near demise in the 1990s.

Gaga, in her second appearance as a lead actress, has promoted the film with a stunning red carpet appearance in a Gucci gown and is widely favored for another Oscar nomination next year.

Driver says the film is about power traps.

“Gucci is like a cake you have a little bit, then you want it all. How can someone like that be tempted by something he knows is bad for him?,” said Driver. “That world’s elegance and theatrics are truly unique.”

The Gucci label no longer has any ties to the Gucci family but provides filmmakers with a “select of original items and props” from its archives, the company said in a statement. It also approved the filming of scenes in its flagship store in Rome. Gucci family members were not involved in the making of the film.

Jared Leto, who is not known for being the flamboyant but misunderstood designer Paolo Gucci, says he did everything for the role.

“I told him (Ridley Scott) ‘I’m going crazy here’ and he went ‘great,’ and he just took the handcuffs off and let us do what we thought was best.

“It was a blast. It was a dream come true,” Leto said.

Reporting by Rollo Ross; written by Jill Serjeantd; edited by Jonathan Oatis

Our standard: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.