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House of Gucci review: Gaga sparkles in real-life bad romance

Are you ready for the craziest film of the year?

house of gucci 1
James King
Film Columnist
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Are you ready for the craziest film of the year? With its A-list cast (Lady Gaga, Jared Leto, Salma Hayek) and legendary director (Sir Ridley Scott) you might think this big-budget biopic would play things safe but actually it’s more bizarre than a Gaga red carpet frock. And it’s all the better for it.

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House of Gucci tells the true story of the famous Italian fashion family, focusing specifically on the arrival of one Patrizia Reggiani in the 1970s, a party girl who marries into the dynasty, shaking up this rather odd group of relatives in the process.

WATCH: Lady Gaga, Jared Leto and Adam Driver star

Allegiances are turned, fortunes are lost and romance sours, Patrizia even hiring a hitman to get revenge on her cheating husband Maurizio (Adam Driver). It’s all the stuff of soap-opera… except that this actually happened.

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Lady Gaga plays Patrizia Reggiani 

Patrizia is played to perfection by Gaga, a natural at in the role of a fame hungry diva but who also gives a human side to someone later dubbed ‘The Black Widow’ by the press. Meanwhile Jared Leto, unrecognisable as cousin Paolo Gucci, manages to be hilarious, menacing and ridiculously camp often in the space of just one sentence. It is one of the most deliciously weird pieces of acting you’ll see all year.

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Jared Leto is unrecognisable as Paolo Gucci

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A film so full of oddballs and mood shifts certainly hasn’t been everyone’s cup of espresso. There have been some mixed reviews out there, expectations dashed that this would either be some big Martin Scorsese-style crime epic or a really twisted drama in the mould of Succession.

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This isn't the Scorsese-style crime film some critics might have expected

Actually it’s neither. Whilst another team might have made this heavy and intense, Gaga and co are happy to highlight the absurdity of this whole sorry saga. The result is fabulous and fun - a romp that’s dressed to kill.

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