“Tragic-comic, Operatic & High-Carb” Roberto Bentivegna Describes “House Of Gucci”

Tackling the tawdry story of the famed fashion house was never going to be an easy task. Gucci contained the elements of a heightened drama – family, jealousy, betrayal, excess… and murder! Writer Becky Johnson wrote an abandoned early draft based on the novel The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed by Sara Gay Forden.

After an extended hiatus, Roberto Bentivegna dusted off the project and wrote a brand new script to capture the heightened nature of the cut throat fashion world in Milan.

“The most unique aspect of the Gucci story was that it touched on so many different themes. It had these grandiose throughlines of  portrayal of power and ambition. It’s all very Shakespearean. Within that, I found a lot of humor and operatic “over the topness”,” he continued. Bentivegna used the comedic flourishes to full advantage. “Instead of taking the story super-seriously, I could make fun of it a little bit.” The elevated nature of the screenwriter’s take on the story mimicked the nature of many of the characters in the the Gucci saga. “The clash of the huge personalities underlined the Gucci family business.”

Roberto Bentivegna

Approaching The Adaptation

Naturally, Bentivegna read the novel before commencing the screenplay. He described the adaptation process like “hunting for truffles. You don’t necessarily know where you’re going with the story until you have a feeling or sense of a story that’s working,” he mused. He started by breaking down the family relationships described in the book along with a timeline for the key events. This chronology acted as a roadmap for the periods in the Gucci empire he wanted to focus on.

Following a careful dissection of the book, he read numerous newspaper articles from the era. “I could read some of the things people were saying about the Gucci family at the time these events were happening.” This gave him a distinct perspective of the story because he wasn’t writing a historical story.

His research process took upwards of three months and Bentivegna hadn’t yet written a word of the script. “Once I felt comfortable with the ingredients, I started to write.” He admits to being ruthless with editing the story and was more concerned with making it entertaining than which of the players might become upset.

Fortuitously, Roberto Bentivegna was raised in Milan – only a short stroll away from the Gucci household. His mother was a fashion designer so the world came naturally to him. “I had a real opportunity to revisit the place I grew up in and the world of fashion.” The intimate knowledge of the location helped him with the “specifics of the place.” This includes the classist element of Milan, such as where the posh restaurants were, and what activities people might participate in. A perfect example in House Of Gucci is when Rodolfo Gucci (Jeremy Irons) is having dinner with Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) and his son Maurizio (Adam Driver) and Patrizia reveals her father works in “transportation” (aka a trucker). “Rodolfo nods with quiet resentment. That silent judgement is very Milanese.”

There were some elements of Maurizio’s life that helped shape his withdrawn demeanor. “He lost his mother when he was five years old. It seemed to me that he really lacked a female figure in his life that Patrizia represented,” opined Bentivegna. Without drawing too many pop psychology conclusions, Roberto believed that Maurizio was initially drawn to Patrizia’s sexuality and maternal power.

Patrizia also had a prickly relationship with her mother Silvana (Alexia Murray) who strongly encouraged her to “marry up” because she wasn’t getting any younger or prettier. “Patrizia’s mother manipulated her and her relationship.” Maurizio was also manipulated by his family to lead the empire and marry someone of equal social class. On some level, both Patrizia and Maurizio were escaping their parents. This rebellion was instrumental in creating empathy for them. Patrizia wasn’t entirely a gold digging opportunist and Maurizio wasn’t entirely an incompetent goofball who destroyed Gucci’s finances.

Who’s Story Is It?

The House Of Gucci is told through the eyes of two main characters. However, the writer states that it really is Patrizia’s story. “Balancing the perspectives of Maurizio and Patrizia was something Ridley [Scott] we talked a lot about,” said Bentivegna. With reference to Sunset Boulevard, Roberto wrote extensive voiceover for Patrizia to make her the dominant of the dual protagonists in early drafts. “I thought it would be a way to keep the balance on her side even in scenes where she wasn’t there. I didn’t want it to feel like we were losing her in the second half of the movie.” Ultimately, he decided that she was the architect of the narrative, particularly when she rose to power and ordered Maurizio’s murder. Paradoxically, she became the antagonist with Domenico Del Sole (Gucci’s financial advisor played by Jack Huston) as they hatched their scheme.

Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) & Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) Photo by Fabio Lovino/ MGM

Roberto conceded that maintaining a singular point of view in the narrative is a challenge since House Of Gucci contains an ensemble cast with larger than life characters.

It’s unclear exactly what drove Patrizia into Maurizio’s arms. Although she clearly enjoyed the trappings of a luxurious lifestyle, she was also interested in the Gucci name, according to Bentivegna. It was ostensibly more than the prestige and social status because Reggiani was her stepfather’s name. “Who’s knows how much of it was wealth and how much of it was love?” The writer left it up to the audience to decide the driving force behind a twenty-five year old girl looking the the richest boy at a party.

Maurizio was a reluctant heir to the Gucci Empire. He was studying to be a lawyer. He pushed the Gucci lifestyle away while Patrizia drew it closer. He was later sold on it. “Gucci’s like a cake. You eat a piece and then you want the whole thing.” He’s a tragic figure, aware of his business skill limitations, the pitfalls of running a fashion house, and the curse-like quality of the Gucci family. His uncle Aldo Gucci (Al Pacino) and cousin Paolo Gucci (Jared Leto) are making a mess the company’s finances which he’s trying to fix.

Maurizio’s passive, mercurial nature allowed actor Adam Driver to transgress what was on the page. He brought a command to a character that was losing control. Lady Gaga brought an erratic, volcanic element to Patrizia. True to the humorous tone of the film, she portrayed a wide-eyed, exaggerated quality to Patrizia to make it clear that she was (over)acting.

Being Funny

Roberto Bentivegna used subtle comedic interludes to highlight character and defuse tense situations. Patrizia was sometimes “hilariously oblivious” to the inappropriate things she said and Maurizio needed to conceal his impending doom. Paolo was a court jester (a sad clown), unaware of the embarrassing nature of his brown pastel fashion collection.

The writer didn’t set out to write gags in this script despite the laugh out loud moments. He was driven by where the characters were in the story. “The humor comes from the fact that they take themselves far too seriously. It’s up to audience to pick up on that irony. Otherwise, you’re in for an uneasy experience. If it was too serious, it would have played like a melodramatic telenovela.“

by Staff Writer

From our in-house editorial team.