The — not so — subtle misogyny of House of Gucci (2021)
Not only does the film not deliver, it fails us women too.
Ridley Scott has made a respectable name for himself in the film industry through an admirable director career that spans several decades. Not only has Scott often squeezed millions of dollars out of the box office, but he’s done a thing or two for women’s representation. After all, he brought to the silver screen one of Hollywood’s most iconic badass female leads in the form of Ellen Ripley in Alien (1979) and most recently, gave us a heart-wrenching take on sexual assault survival in the —shockingly underrated — The Last Duel (2021). It’s no wonder I went into the theater with such expectations for House of Gucci (2021).
Unfortunately, I was disappointed on every level. The direction is functional and uninspired, passively dragging us through a series of events without many purposes. Performances are all over the place, with some actors taking overacting to new lows (looking at you, Jared Leto) while others put no effort into it. And speaking of messy, the soundtrack choices so are off, they’re often cringeworthy. As if those were not enough reasons, the movie is unnecessarily long and with such appalling pacing issues that it gets boring very early into the story. It really doesn’t seem like Ridley Scott’s work at all.
What’s worse is that not only does the film not deliver, it fails us with how it handles female characters. But I’ll get to that in a minute.
Before we move on, what is House of Gucci (2021) even about?
The story kicks off when Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) meets Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), one of the heirs to the world-renowned luxury fashion brand Gucci. The couple falls in love and despite the objections of Maurizio’s father (who cuts ties with his son), Maurizio and Patrizia marry and expand the family. Their estrangement from the Guccis doesn’t last too long, though. As soon as the opportunity arises, Patrizia works their way back into the family through Maurizio’s uncle and encourages her husband to take a more active role in the company.
The more the couple gets involved in the family business, the more Patrizia pushes to extend their control and take over the Gucci empire at all costs. Once they start getting what they aimed for, however, the marriage starts crumbling and then completely falls apart when Maurizio reconnects with Paula, an old friend. With an imminent divorce ahead, a desperate Patrizia seeks help from her friend/psychic consultant Pina and together they take things to the ultimate consequences.
Beyond the plot
Many things bothered me about this movie but its disregard for women is the one that may have hit me the most. Let’s start with its leading lady.
Patrizia is presented as nothing more than the caricature of a gold digger and a “crazy woman”, perpetuating misogynistic cliches that we should be way past. The use of this trope paints a very black and white picture of the events that brought the demise of the Guccis, opening an emotional gap with the audience. This superficial treatment does not allow us to develop any sort of empathy for Patrizia and understand her motivations (even if we might not share them — we can all agree killing is categorically wrong!).
Something that really caught my attention is how strongly Patrizia is demonized upfront, absorbing all responsibility from the male characters around her. Throughout the whole film, we are witnesses to how Maurizio plays along with her every move yet when things turn sour, she’s the only one to blame for breaking the Gucci family apart. As if he had no agency at all. If the movie has any intention to mock the incompetence of the rich, it is completely lost when we don’t get access to Patrizia’s perspective.
I have quite a big issue with the fact that we never really get to know her at all… who is Patrizia Reggiani? Where did her ambition come from? How did she become passionate about business? Did she ever truly believe she was doing right by Maurizio? Not only does the lack of any standpoint on this diminish the character herself, it also affects the plot, making the ending extremely anticlimactic. We’re just supposed to take Patrizia’s actions for granted because she was “one of those crazy ex-wives”.
And that’s just what is fundamentally wrong on an individual character basis, not even taking into account her relationships with other women in the story. Whether it’s Patrizia and Paula or Patrizia and Pina, these ladies are at the service of the stories of men. So much so that men are all they talk about; to the extent that I’d be very surprised if this movie makes the cut for the Bechdel test.
My takeaways
House of Gucci (2021) misses many marks. Outstandingly, it wastes the opportunity to turn a sordid crime into an exploration of family, relationships and the psyche of a criminal. But I’m willing to look past that lack of vision. What is not acceptable in my eyes is perpetuating outdated sexist narratives.
Had this film portrayed Patrizia as complex and multidimensional, not only would it do a better job at representing women, it would have also benefitted by becoming more engaging. Basically, crafting such an important character with more purpose would have elevated the story as a whole… a win-win for us all.
At the end of the day, misogyny dies hard and movies won’t fix such a pervading societal issue. But like I’ve said time and time again, the media’s impact of culture is undeniable. This means it’s up to screenwriters to revise the values they’re putting to paper. It’s also in the hands of producers and directors alike to stop supporting stories that don’t do the female characters justice.
If Hollywood is not part of the solution, it remains part of the problem, however subtle its participation may be.
Thais Bogarín is a content nerd, cinephile, and intersectional feminist. Follow her on Instagram @tha.is.in.das.haus
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