They are not happy.
Reviews are rolling in for House of Gucci which premiered last week, with most people applauding Lady Gaga and Adam Driver for their portrayal of the infamous Patrizia Reggiani and her husband Maurizio Gucci.
However, the real-life Gucci family – heirs of Aldo Gucci, the man who turned the Italian label into a worldwide phenomenon – do not agree.
In a statement, they said:
“Despite the claim that the work seeks to tell the ‘true story’ of the family… the film conveys a narrative that is anything but accurate.
“The film’s production 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 who were ignorant and insensitive to the world around them.
“This is extremely painful from a human point of view and an insult to the legacy on which the brand is built today.”
Director Ridley Scott has hit back at the response, referring to it as “alarmingly insulting”. He told Total Film Magazine that the family should consider themselves lucky that such amazing actors have been cast to tell their story.
“The people that were writing from the family to us at the onset were alarmingly insulting, saying that Al Pacino did not represent physically Aldo Gucci in any shape or form,” he said.
“And yet, frankly, how could they be better represented than by Al Pacino? Excuse me! You probably have the best actors in the world, you should be so f*cking lucky.”
The Guccis have also taken issue with the fact that Lady Gaga chose to portray Patrizia as a victim in a male-dominated and chauvinistic corporate world.
“This could not be further from the truth,” they wrote. “In the 70 years of history in which Gucci was a family business, it was always inclusive.
“Indeed, precisely in the 1980s – the historical context in which the film is set – there were several women in top positions, and not only family members.”
House of Gucci is in cinemas now.
