Ah, the fall season. It’s often the best time of the year for movies as studios roll out award contenders and the heavy-hitters bring in audiences during their time off with family and friends. It’s also common to see our share of “based on a true story” movies during this season, one of which is Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci. The movie stars Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani and Adam Driver as her husband Maurizio Gucci, and it explores the events that led to his murder. With the Gucci family front and center, it’s not surprising they’re speaking out about the film’s depiction of them.
House of Gucci is based on the book of the same name written by Sara Gay Forden and directed by Blade Runner’s Ridley Scott. Following the movie’s successful first weekend in theaters and audience buzz, the Gucci family released a statement, which has been translated from Italian. In part, the Guccis said:
The production of the film did not bother to consult the heirs before describing Aldo Gucci — president of the company for 30 years — and the members of the Gucci family as thugs, ignorant and insensitive to the world around them, attributing to the protagonists, events, a tone and an attitude that never belonged to them. This is extremely painful from a human point of view and an insult to the legacy on which the brand is built today.
These comments were first reported on Italian news agency ANSA (via Variety) and show some distaste for the depiction of the Gucci family in House of Gucci. As the family shared, the Ridley Scott film chose not to reach out to them before the likes of Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Jared Leto and Adam Driver took on the roles of the fashion family. The statement also said the following:
Gucci is a family that lives honoring the work of its ancestors, whose memory does not deserve to be disturbed to stage a film that is not true and that does not do justice to its protagonists.The members of the Gucci family reserves every right to protect the name, image and the dignity of their loved ones.
This is a response that has become common among dramas based on the real events for the real people they are based on to speak out, especially when they are shown in a negative light. Mark Zuckerberg did so for The Social Network, and recently, the real woman who was portrayed by Jennifer Lopez in Hustlers attempted to sue the movie’s studio for telling her story without her permission.
The Guccis are not currently taking legal action against the production company behind the movie, and as it goes with movies such as this, it’s a story in the public domain and up to filmmakers’ own interpretation. Movies are under no obligation to consult the subjects of movies, including House of Gucci, and get their approval prior to using their names to tell a story.
Outside Of The Gucci Family, Designer Tom Ford Also Didn’t Love The Movie
Aside from the Gucci family, fashion designer Tom Ford, who is portrayed by Reeve Carney in House of Gucci, has also spoken out about his distaste with the movie's choices. In his words in Airmail:
I recently survived a screening of the two-hour-and-37-minute film that is House of Gucci. The shiny, ambitious, beautifully filmed and costumed tale of greed and murder is stunning by the sheer number of stars that have been cast… The film is … well, I’m still not quite sure what it is exactly, but somehow I felt as though I had lived through a hurricane when I left the theater. Was it a farce or a gripping tale of greed? I often laughed out loud, but was I supposed to?
There is something to be said about how the subjects of the film react to parts of their own reality being depicted on screen. Perhaps, House of Gucci is a “hurricane” when placed next to history, or maybe they are too close to the subject? House of Gucci is now playing in theaters.
