{"id":7857,"date":"2021-11-26T11:00:52","date_gmt":"2021-11-26T10:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1519088"},"modified":"2021-11-26T11:20:27","modified_gmt":"2021-11-26T10:20:27","slug":"house-of-gucci-true-story-how-accurate-is-ridley-scotts-true-crime-melodrama","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/house-of-gucci-true-story-how-accurate-is-ridley-scotts-true-crime-melodrama\/","title":{"rendered":"House of Gucci true story: How accurate is Ridley Scott\u2019s true-crime melodrama?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Patrick Cremona\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 26 November 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Sir Ridley Scott\u2019s new film House of Gucci<\/a> tells the real life story of a turbulent marriage and shocking act of revenge: the murder of Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) ordered by his ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a piece of history that might not be familiar to film fans, but screenwriter Roberto Bentivegna \u2013 who is making his feature-writing debut \u2013 had clear memories of the incident even before he was approached to draft the script, having been a child in Milan when the incident occurred.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very aware of it,\u201d he tells RadioTimes.com<\/a> in an exclusive interview to mark the film\u2019s release. \u201cBecause I grew up in Milan, and my mother\u2019s a fashion designer. And it was a story that was very well known in Italy \u2013 I actually remember seeing the news report when Maurizio was murdered, I think I was about 11 or 12 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe shot of Patrizia in black at the church, at her husband\u2019s funeral \u2013 the man that she murdered \u2013 was very iconic in Italian media, and so I knew the story quite well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The film is not just concerned with the act of murder itself, but rather tells a sprawling story based on the two decades leading up to the act of revenge, beginning with the first meeting between Patrizia and Maurizio and focusing on the various rifts in the Gucci family that came to define their marriage.<\/p>\n\nAs shown in the film, Patrizia \u2013 the daughter of a waitress and a truck driver \u2013 first met Maurizio at a party in the early \u201970s, and they were eventually hitched in 1972, despite some strong opposition from Maurizio\u2019s father Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons) \u2013 who was insistent that Patrizia was only in it to get her hands on the family\u2019s fortune.<\/p>\nFollowing their marriage, the couple became something of a media sensation and were regularly seen at high-profile parties and events in Milan, before Maurizio was roped into leaving the city for New York, where he worked alongside his uncle Aldo (played in the film by Al Pacino).<\/p>\nThings began to take a turn for the disastrous following Rodolfo\u2019s death in 1983, and Maurizio set about wrestling control of the company away from his uncle \u2013 eventually enlisting his cousin Paolo (Jared Leto) in a scheme to get Aldo arrested for tax evasion.<\/p>\nThat was just the beginning of the family\u2019s woes: unhappy with his marriage, Maurizio began an affair with interior designer Paola Franchi, while he was also forced to sell his Gucci shares after years of reckless spending. Naturally, Patrizia was unhappy about both of these misdemeanours, and her anger only increased when the couple officially divorced in 1994.<\/p>\nMaurizio was shot on the morning of 27th March 1995 \u2013 and the subsequent investigation initially only led to dead ends until details from an informant led the police to Patrizia two years after the case had gone cold.<\/p>\nAlthough Patrizia protested her innocence during the trial, the prosecution presented evidence that showed she had organised the killing along with four accomplices \u2014 Pina Auriemma, Benedetto Ceraulo, Orazio Cicala and Ivano Savioni \u2014 and she was eventually sentenced to 29 years in prison, although she served just 18 years and was released in 2016.<\/p>\nPatrizia is still alive today, and told <a href=\""https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/fashion\/2016\/jul\/24\/the-gucci-wife-and-the-hitman-fashions-darkest-tale"\">The Guardian<\/a> in 2016: \u201cIf I could see Maurizio again I would tell him that I love him, because he is the person who has mattered most to me in my life.\u201d She added: \u201cI think he\u2019d say the feeling wasn\u2019t mutual.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\""image-handler__container\" image-handler__container--full=\"\" style=\""padding-bottom:\" calc=\"\"> <picture><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Patrizia-Reggiani-in-2021-fd7e482.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=300%2C200,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Patrizia-Reggiani-in-2021-fd7e482.jpg?quality=90&resize=300%2C200,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Patrizia-Reggiani-in-2021-fd7e482.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=355%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Patrizia-Reggiani-in-2021-fd7e482.jpg?quality=90&resize=355%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Patrizia-Reggiani-in-2021-fd7e482.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=405%2C270,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Patrizia-Reggiani-in-2021-fd7e482.jpg?quality=90&resize=405%2C270,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Patrizia-Reggiani-in-2021-fd7e482.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Patrizia-Reggiani-in-2021-fd7e482.jpg?quality=90&resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Patrizia-Reggiani-in-2021-fd7e482.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Patrizia-Reggiani-in-2021-fd7e482.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Patrizia-Reggiani-in-2021-fd7e482.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=408%2C272,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Patrizia-Reggiani-in-2021-fd7e482.jpg?quality=90&resize=408%2C272,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Patrizia-Reggiani-in-2021-fd7e482.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=556%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Patrizia-Reggiani-in-2021-fd7e482.jpg?quality=90&resize=556%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><img class=\""wp-image-1519278\" align=\"\" size-landscape_thumbnail=\"\" image-handler__image=\"\" image-handler__image--full=\"\" no-wrap=\"\" js-lazyload=\"\" data-src=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Patrizia-Reggiani-in-2021-fd7e482.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" width=\""620"\" height=\""413"\" alt=\""Patrizia\" reggiani=\"\" in=\"\" title=\""Patrizia\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><div class=\""caption-hold"\"><figcaption class=\""wp-caption-text"\"> Patrizia Reggiani in 2021<\/span><\/figcaption> Getty<\/i><\/span><\/div>\nBentivegna\u2019s script uses Sara Gay Forden\u2019s non-fiction book <a href=\"\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/House-Gucci-Sensational-Madness-Glamour\/dp\/0060937750?tag=radtim0b-21&ascsubtag=radiotimes-0"\" rel=\""sponsored" noopener noreferrer\" target=\""_blank"\">The House of Gucci: A True Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed<\/a> as its basis, but condensing the epic story into one movie proved to be relatively challenging, even if the film does clock in at almost 2 hours and 40 minutes. <\/span><\/p>\nAnd so in adapting the book, Bentivegna found himself looking back not just to the historical events themselves but also to Hollywood history, as he wrestled with how best to frame the narrative.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cMy guiding principle was to tell it from Patrizia\u2019s point of view as much as possible,\u201d he explains. \u201cAnd, you know, I was really interested in creating a great female antihero. Some of my favourite movies are Scarface, Sunset Boulevard and The Godfather, so I was like: is there a way to sort of combine the sensibilities from those three films?<\/p>\n\u201cAnd with Sunset Boulevard, it was really kind of the idea of telling the story from Norma Desmond\u2019s perspective rather than William Holden\u2019s character. That movie is very interesting because narratively it\u2019s so confusing in a sense. Like, it\u2019s Norma Desmond\u2019s movie, but it\u2019s told through William Holden\u2019s eyes, and so I kind of saw this as a chance to take a cue from that and then turn the point of view upside down, tell the story from the stalker rather than the stalked.\u201d<\/p>\nNaturally, not everything that happened in real life \u2013 or indeed everything that Bentivegna wrote \u2013 made it into the finished film. He explains that he had initially written a prologue that gave the backstory of the Gucci empire in the years before the film opens, but despite positive feedback, this section had to be scrapped.<\/p>\n\u201cIt was almost like the Pixar film Up, where in five minutes you kind of go through 50 years,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I wrote it, and I loved it and Ridley loved it. But logistically it was very difficult to pull off \u2013 even on a budget like this, you have to cut corners.<\/p>\n\u201cAnd then, there was a couple of scenes here and there, like I had a yacht in the movie, I had this massive yacht which Maurizio and Patrizia had bought and refurbished \u2013 and I just got rid of it. I mean, it was just too complicated, so there\u2019s a lot of little details that were changed.\u201d<\/p> While some changes were made, however, Bentivegni insists that the film is largely true to the real story \u2013 with the process having been made considerably easier by the vast quantity of documents and sources already in the public eye.<\/p>\n\u201cI think you capture the essence of the people and the events,\u201d he explains. \u201cObviously if you stray too far away then you might as well rename the characters and call it something else.<\/p>\n\u201cBut also, it\u2019s such a fine line. Because we\u2019re not doing a documentary, we\u2019re doing a creative representation of something that happened. And this is something that\u2019s been done since the beginning of time \u2013 you know, theatre is almost always in some way inspired by real people and real events. And so it\u2019s just a question of feeling like you\u2019re doing the real people justice.<\/p>\n\u201cAnd in this case, we were lucky, because a lot of the family secrets were exposed in newspaper articles, and obviously the book by Sara Gay Forden, and court transcripts. And so it didn\u2019t feel like I was fishing for dirt. It was all very clear what they did to each other, it was all in the open.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\""template-article__editor-content\" editor-content=\"\" ev-meter-content=\"\"><section class=\""template-article__editor-content\" editor-content=\"\" ev-meter-content=\"\">House of Gucci is out now in UK cinemas. <\/strong>Looking for something to watch on telly\u00a0this evening? We\u2019ve got you covered. Check out our\u00a0<a href=\""https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/"\" rel=\""noopener\" noreferrer=\"\">TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0or visit our dedicated\u00a0<a href=\""https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/movies\/"\" rel=\""noopener\" noreferrer=\"\">Movies<\/a> hub for the latest film news and recommendations.<\/strong><\/section><\/section><\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Patrick Cremona Published: Friday, 26 November 2021 at 12:00 am Sir Ridley Scott\u2019s new film House of Gucci tells the real life story of a turbulent marriage and shocking act of revenge: the murder of Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) ordered by his ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga). 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It\u2019s a piece of history that might…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/7857"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}