To me, art, like beauty, has no price.

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Top 50 Films of 2021 

#33 : House Of Gucci

True-crime fashion-house drama directed by Ridley Scott as a pantomimey soap following a stylish Lady Gaga, as Patrizia Reggiano, as she plots to kill her ex, Maurizio Gucci.

An odd one this one - I just really don't feel the need to watch it.  I've heard quite a few people say nice things about it, I know Lady G and plenty others have won plaudits for their acting and I'm sure it will all be done impressively - but none of that changes my views on the matter.  Let's see if watching the film (all 2.5 hours of it) manages to do so, eh?

Well - it was a real struggle, but I made it (eventually!).  It's an interesting story and it's mostly well acted and staged - but unfortunately I just didn't care.  The Guardian's description of it as a "pantomimey soap" is spot on for me - there are far too many over-the-top histrionics and all it feels like several expensive episodes of Eastenders stuck together.  Far too many of them as well - it really didn't need to be that long and it detracted from the story for me.  Some bits of the film came across as unbelievable - but this isn't a criticism because I suspect they were (mostly) true which just means that more credit is due to whoever decided it would make a good idea for a film.  I think it just needed a bit (OK, a lot) of judicious pruning and dialling down of the tone.

The acting is all very act-y - the suspicion is that everyone has done their very best with what they've been given, but what they've been given is a bit of a mixed bag.  Lady Gaga (who's been in the news recently for being fabulous at both the Oscars and the Grammies) is very good, but she's not exactly the most likeable of characters.  She also goes through quite the range of looks throughout the film - Ruby Wax, Elizabeth Taylor and Rizzo from Grease are all channelled at times.  Adam Driver also puts on a good show, but he's more odd than unlikeable - he's certainly picks interesting characters to play though.  

I didn't recognise Al Pacino at first, Jared Leto is just odd on so many levels and quite what the point to Salma Hayek's casting was is unclear.  It's also funny seeing Jeremy Irons in a role very reminiscent of his turn as Claus von Bulow - in 1990's Reversal Of Fortune.  However, across the board the accents are very strange with them coming from all over the place and making a very odd mix - I'm really not sure what the thinking was there.  Fortunately, more effort went into making the locations authentic and they all look a-may-zing with lots of impressively retro wealth on display.

So, it all looks very nice but it wasn't half a drag for me - I think it didn't happen that I knew how it ended, but I very nearly just gave up on it.  However, in the interests of balance, I have to report that Mrs Reed liked it a lot - there's no accounting for tastes I guess (just look at her choice of husband).  She saw it on the big screen, so maybe that made a difference - but I found the whole thing a trial and have no intention of revisiting it.

At the time of writing, House Of Gucci is available to rent or buy in all the usual locations - personally, I couldn't envisage why you'd want to but if you're determined to do so, who am I to stop you?

#34 - A film more enjoyable than its subject matter
#32 - A very enjoyable two hours