Drama and chaos erupt in Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci,” as Patrizia Reggiani attempts to seize power within the Gucci family after marrying Maurizio Gucci. At first, the couple is not accepted by Maurizio’s father, Rodolfo, but he later recants and welcomes them into the family. Eventually, Rodolfo dies and before that, he arranges to transfer his shares to Maurizio, meaning his son will own 50 percent of the company. The only problem is that he forgets to sign the document, which means that after his death, Maurizio finds himself facing a debilitating amount of inheritance tax. Later, Maurizio is accused of forging his father’s signature, forcing him to flee the country, but at the same time it is implied that the real culprit is Patrizia. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Gucci house fictionalizes Patrizia’s involvement in counterfeiting
In the film, Patrizia Reggiani is depicted as the mastermind behind the creation of Rodolfo Gucci’s signature, but in real life, she was never officially charged with this crime. In fact, it was Maurizio who was caught up in the legalities surrounding his father’s signing. As shown in the film, it is true that Rodolfo died before signing the transfer of shares. When Maurizio joined the company, driving out his uncle Aldo, he faced a lawsuit from Aldo and his two sons, Roberto and Giorgio. According to the lawsuit, he asked his secretary, Roberta Cassol, to do so. However, unable to falsify the signatures, she allegedly delegated this task to her assistant, Liliana Colombo. Following these allegations, Maurizio left Italy for Switzerland, while claiming that the accusations were baseless and that he was completely innocent in the matter.
He called it a premeditated attack by his uncle. The court found him guilty of the charges against him, but later another hearing cleared him of the whole matter. In all this, Patrizia’s name doesn’t really come into play. According to the Los Angeles Times, Rodolfo Gucci’s assistant testified against Patrizia, accusing her of the crime. But this testimony never developed into an in-depth investigation into Patrizia’s life and crimes. While her husband handled the legal matter, she mostly stayed out of the way and didn’t get drawn into the drama. The film, however, reverses the scenario and places Patrizia at the center of this conflict. However, this has more to do with plot requirements and character arc rather than historical accuracy.
Since the film stars Lady Gaga’s Patrizia as the central character, who the audience follows from start to finish, it was essential to involve her in all major developments of the story. While the story ends with her being convicted of her husband’s murder, the preparation for her crime must have seemed convincing. The public needed to be able to believe that she had the courage to order Maurizio’s murder, but before that, she needed to commit another crime serious enough to show that she could stoop lower to get what she wanted. This is why the filmmakers distorted the facts by adapting the story for the screen and inserting Patrizia into the narrative. Notably, it’s not entirely hard to believe that she might have been the force behind the counterfeiting, especially as her power plays become more intense and it becomes clear that all she wants is to be a Gucci in every sense of the word.
Read more: Did Jared Leto gain weight for Gucci? Did he wear prosthetics?
