“Sometimes when Al Pacino, who plays Aldo Gucci, and Jared Leto, who plays Aldo’s son Paolo Gucci, were on screen, I wondered if I wasn’t watching a Saturday Night Live version of the story., continues Tom Ford in his review, this time comparing the film to the sketches of the famous American show. Jared Leto’s shine is literally buried under latex prosthetics. The two actors had carte blanche to overplay. They must have fun. Paolo, whom I met on several occasions, was indeed an eccentric person and did wacky things, but his behavior in general was not that of the mad, mentally deranged character portrayed by the role of Jared Leto.“
It’s hard to find the humor in something so gory.
Tom Ford concludes: “I was deeply sad for several days after watching House of Gucci, a reaction that only we, who knew the protagonists and the facts, can feel. I found it hard to find the humor and theatrical character in something so gory. In reality, there was nothing theatrical. It was absurd at times, but it ended in tragedy. But thanks to the excellent performances of Lady Gaga and Adam Driver, the exaggerated roles of the whole cast, the impeccable costumes, the magnificent sets and the very beautiful cinematography, the film will be a hit. You only need to display the name ‘Gucci’ on something to make it sell.“
If the film affected Tom Ford so much, it is because he was artistic director of Gucci at the time of the murder of Maurizio Gucci, its former CEO, in 1995. The American held his position for 14 years (from 1990 to 2004) before being hired by Yves Saint Laurent, another brand of the Printemps Pinault La Redoute group (PPR, renamed Kering). Tom Ford then created his own brand and is its artistic director.
In House of Gucci, Lady Gaga and Adam Driver play the ex-spouses Patrizia Reggiani and Maurizio Gucci. Maurizio was the former CEO of Gucci, as well as the grandson of the founder of the house, Guccio Gucci. He was assassinated by a contract killer outside his company’s headquarters in Milan on March 27, 1995, a year and a half after selling the rest of his Gucci shares to the UAE investment group Investcorp, for a sum of between 150 and $ 200 million. Patrizia Reggiani and their two daughters, Allegra and Alessandra, attended his funeral.
Patrizia Reggiani, played by Lady Gaga, was arrested on January 31, 1997 by the Milanese police, with two accomplices wiretapped during the investigation. They had revealed during telephone exchanges that Patrizia Reggiani had agreed to pay the sum of 610 million lire (a little over 315,000 euros in old Italian currency) to the perpetrator of the assassination. Among these accomplices was a clairvoyant, Pina Auriemma, whose character is played by Salma Hayek.
Patrizia Reggiani was initially sentenced to 29 years, a sentence reduced to 26 years on appeal and upheld in the Supreme Court. She attempted to kill herself by hanging herself in her cell on November 9, 2000. Patrizia was later offered day parole, which she refused for fear of having to work. She was fully released on February 20, 2017, after 20 years in detention. Authorities released her from her three-year probation.