The star-studded House of Gucci is inspired by the true story of Italy's infamous Black
Widow who conspired to murder her ex-husband, but how much of the film is Hollywood fiction
versus historical fact?
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, I'm Jan, and in this video I'm revealing the biggest things
that House of Gucci got wrong about the real story of Patrizia Reggiani and the Gucci family.
The true tale of Patrizia Reggiani who came from humble beginnings and married into the
rich and powerful Guccis has plenty of intrigue and drama, however, House of Gucci isn't shy
about spicing things up, including Patrizia's wedding dress.
The movie's costume designer prepared two designs.
The first was modelled on the real dress worn by Patrizia which covered her all the way
down to the floor.
But director Ridley Scott opted for an alternate design that was more revealing and is a homage
to famous Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida.
According to the film's costume cutter, "even though the [wedding] scene was short,
it was significant for the character, so the outfit had to have immediacy and impact."
In the movie, Maurizio meets his childhood friend Paola when he flees to St Moritz to
get away from the Italian tax authorities.
The film plays up the idea that his romance with Paola began while he was still with Patrizia,
and also that he decided to separate from his wife while they were together in Switzerland.
In fact though, the details of Maurizio's split with Patrizia were much different.
It happened one weekend in 1985 when he told Patrizia he was going on a business trip to
Florence, left with a suitcase and never came back.
It was left to a friend to tell Patrizia the next day that it was actually over.
Also, in real life, Maurizio didn't reunite with Paola until 1990, a full five years after
he left his wife.
On top of that, the movie completely omits the fact that Maurizio was actually having
an affair with a different woman, Sheree McLaughlin who said their relationship spurred him on
to leave his unhappy marriage.
Maurizio's affair with McLaughlin lasted until he met up with Paola years later which did
happen in Switzerland though it was actually at a club and not on the ski slopes.
I suspect the filmmakers omitted the relationship with McLaughlin to condense the story given
the final film is already over two and a half hours long and they chose to portray Paola
over her as that's who he's with at the time of his death.
Also, having Patrizia share scenes with Paola ramps up the movie's drama before the separation.
You ever steal anything Paola?
I'm trying to teach Alessandra the importance of not touching other people's belongings.
The details surrounding how Patrizia would eventually have Maurizio killed have also
been compressed and dramatized for the movie.
In reality, it appears she didn't meet with the people involved in the murder as happens
in the film; instead, she asked lots of different people
if they'd help her, then she got her psychic friend Pina to act as an intermediary and
find the assassins.
There was also another person involved who was the real-life getaway driver;
however, in the film his role has been merged with one of the other conspirators.
Also in the movie, the assassin shoots Maurizio three times, twice in the back and once in
the chest; but according to the real-life concierge who
witnessed the murder, the gunman shot Maurizio a total of four times, three in the back and
a fourth time in his head.
This may have been changed to make it a little less gory in the movie.
And there's a touch of extra drama in the trial with Patrizia refusing to answer to
her maiden name Reggiani, which in reality she also did when signing
her police statement, defiantly telling the judge to call her Signora Gucci, a reference
to how she continued to use the Gucci name even after her divorce and how she's popularly
known as Lady Gucci.
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The filmmakers also took some creative license when staging Maurizio's murder.
The movie's production designer has said that the spot in Milan on the Via Palestro where
the real murder took place "was drab and uncinematic and [they] were striving for a more heightened
atmosphere."
So he says they found "a section of Rome with wide streets that could credibly stand in
for Milan.
And the area was a collage of architectural styles, Gothic, Renaissance and Arabic [that
gave it] a very operatic feel."
The day that Maurizio was killed, Patrizia famously wrote in her diary the single word
"paradeisos", which in Greek means "paradise".
In the movie, however, she writes the Italian version of the word, "paradiso".
I imagine the filmmakers did this as they thought it seemed more logical and more people
would easily and quickly understand the Italian word than the Greek one.
The film team also opted for a much more dramatic way to show how Patrizia had Paola evicted
from the home she'd been sharing with Maurizio.
In the movie, Patrizia turns up at the apartment, and after embracing Paola tearfully, orders
her to be shown out of what she now calls her house.
I subscribe to unconventional punishment.
Back in the real world, this never happened.
Instead, the eviction order was delivered via a notarised letter drawn up around 11am
on the same day Maurizio died, just a few hours after his death.
Although Patrizia and Maurizio's daughter Alessandra appears in the film, their second
child Allegra was completely cut from the story.
I suspect this was done to condense the already-long movie as even the daughter who does appear
isn't a crucial part of the script.
Also it means the filmmakers could avoid casting more child actors whose involvement in a production
brings additional rules and regulations, especially as they'd already had to get three actors
to play Alessandra over a range of ages.
Another interesting detail absent from the final film is that after Patrizia was convicted,
her daughters tried to get a retrial on the basis that after their mother had an operation
to remove a brain tumour in 1992, she lacked proper control over her mental faculties at
the time of the murder.
This did get her sentence reduced by a few years;
however, since then both daughters seem to have more or less cut ties with their mother.
When it comes to the look of the characters, although the movie's make-up and hair team
seem to have done a good job with Patrizia, the real Gucci family have complained about
some of the cast, claiming their depictions are unflattering.
One of Maurizio Gucci's cousins has said her grandfather Aldo was a lot taller than Al
Pacino who plays him and that Pacino's overall heavier look and sideburns compared unfavourably
to the real-life Aldo who she says was much more handsome.
Plus, she also felt offended by Jared Leto's untidy, unfashionable look as Paolo.
Paolo, you are a Gucci.
You need to dress the part.
It's chic.
After the release of the first trailer, some suggested Lady Gaga's accent was more Eastern
European than Italian.
And since then, Francesca De Martini – an Italian actress who worked as a dialect coach
for Salma Hayek who plays Pina – commented that while she was listening to Hayek's scenes,
she thought Gaga's "accent was a bit off", sounding "more Russian" than Italian.
I don't consider myself to be a particularly ethical person..
but I am fair.
De Martini also said there were a lot of different accents in the film with, in her opinion,
Al Pacino sounding "more New York Italian".
Gucci... is what I say it is.
And Adam Driver's accent being "nearly non-existent".
As far as fakes go, they're pretty good.
At least it's my name on the mugs, not yours.
And then there's Jared Leto's Paolo which you can make your own mind up about.
These are just mock-ups.
I can't afford to get serious.
You picked a real firecracker.
According to De Martino, there wasn't a dialect coach on set and she was only brought in at
Hayek's request after the actress felt she wasn't getting the accent quite right.
Don't let the forces around you dictate who you are.
You are strong, you are magnificent.
Now, in Lady Gaga's defence, she revealed in an interview with Vogue that her method
to get into character as Patrizia was very intense.
She said she "lived as her for a year and a half [and] spoke with an accent for nine
months of that", apparently never breaking, even off camera.
If you don't know, I'm gonna make sure you do.
She also said "it was impossible for [her] to speak in the accent as a blonde," so she
instantly died her hair.
And she added that she worked hard on figuring out Patrizia's specific accent.
Bravo.
And uses different ones depending on who she's talking to in the film.
It's time to take out the trash.
Gaga began with a dialect from Vignola, where Patrizia was born, and then moved on to what
she described as a "higher class way of speaking that would have been more appropriate in places
like Milan and Florence".
Whatever you think of the accents though, all credit [goes] to Lady Gaga for improvising
a line that's already become iconic.
Can you keep a secret?
Father, Son and House of Gucci.
So, what do you think of House of Gucci and who gave the best and worst performances?
Let me know in the comments below.
If you enjoyed this, then a thumbs-up and a share are hugely appreciated.
And if you're a fan of crime dramas, tap left for my latest You video with Season 4 theories
about Love's return or tap right for something else you're sure to like.
Thanks for watching and see ya next time.
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!