The price of fame and the corrupting influence of power aren’t exactly uncharted ground when it comes to film and television. But what about when it happens in real life, and a movie is made charting those true events, is it fair to criticize the film and label it cliché?
That’s my dilemma with House of Gucci, Ridley Scott’s second film of 2021, released within a month of The Last Duel, which (spoiler) I liked much better than this one. Funnily enough, both star Adam Driver and feature bloated two and a half hour runtimes. Each has their merits, and each their downsides.
As I alluded to earlier, House of Gucci is a (fictionalized) historical retelling depicting the fall of the Gucci family dynasty, which owned the company since its founding. Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) marries the youngest member of the Gucci family, Maurizio (Adam Driver), whose father essentially disowns him over his relationship with Patrizia. Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons and Al Pacino also star as the other members of the Gucci family, who essentially become main characters as the film progresses.
Is Ghostbusters: Afterlife a worthy continuation of the franchise, and is House of Gucci a substantial follow-up to The Last Duel? In the debut episode of The Lenient Critic Podcast, Foster Harlfinger joins Rowan to review four of the latest films, and preview four that we will see in the coming weeks! They also break down their favorite biopics (a loaded category!) and talk about what they’ve been watching in November, whether it be very good...or very bad.
