Lady Gaga describes toll of playing murderer Patrizia Reggiani in ‘camp’ yet ‘messy’ House of Gucci
Lady Gaga attends the British premiere Of House of Gucci. (Samir Hussein/WireImage)
Lady Gaga said she “suffered” playing Patrizia Reggiani as the “camp” yet “messy” House of Gucci finally premiered in London, England.
The “Stupid Love” hitmaker was joined by the likes of Drag Race UK‘s Bimini Bon Boulash and Salma Hayek at the Odeon Luxe cinema in Leicester Square Tuesday evening (9 November).
Gaga, 35, commanded attention in a sweeping sheer lilac gown revealing fishnet tights underneath.
Speaking to Sky News, the actor reflected on the mental toll and anguish preparing for the role of Patrizia Reggiani, the wealthy socialite and former wife of Maurizio Gucci, took on her.
“That’s part of my artistry, is leaning into the suffering of a character,” she said of Reggiani.
Lady Gaga feels ‘Patrizia Reggiani inside her all the time’ since House of Gucci
The Ridley Scott film chronicles the true story of Reggiani who was convicted in 1998 of ordering the slaying of Gucci, the heir to Italy’s most famous leather goods company, three years before.
She had hired Benedetto Ceraulo and Orazio Cicala to carry out the killing.
Reggiani, once a member of Italy’s glamorous jet-set class, soon found herself plunged into sordid scandal and dubbed “The Black Widow” by the press.
To capture Reggiani’s turn of mind, Gaga stayed in character for 18 months, she told the broadcaster. “To say that it would be easy to play a murderer would be a lie,” Gaga said.
(Samir Hussein/WireImage)
“I don’t believe she had the murder gene, but I do believe that she was triggered and pushed so far over the edge that she committed this murder.”
In cocooning herself in Reggiani’s way of thinking, Gaga said she later struggled to free herself – and she might never be able to.
“I would say that, in terms of letting the character go, I don’t know that I’d ever let her go.
“Today, I chose this ring and it looks just like her engagement ring – I feel her inside of me all the time and I think it will take years.
“It took me years to shed Ali from A Star Is Born and I think the same will be true here.”
If critics could agree on one thing and one thing only about House of Gucci, is that it’s camp. It stars Lady Gaga alongside a generic white man after all.
“Is House of Gucci a ‘good’ movie?” tweeted Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly.
“In many ways it’s a mess, but the costumes and the camp accents (‘GOOTCH-eeee’) and the pure bonkers Ridley Scott melodrama of it all still felt like a balm for my weary sweatpants soul.”
(John Phillips/Getty Images for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Universal Pictures )
Variety‘s Clayton Davis said: “House of Gucci is quite the animal.
“Campy, everything Ridley Scott wanted The Counselor to be but wasn’t able to. Will be divided by many.
“Lady Gaga eats every morsel of her role up. Instantly the most quotable/meme-able movie since Borat. Jared Leto best since his Oscar win.”
Brandon Katz of the Observer, however, was more biting in his review.
“House of Gucci is an overwrought slog without any discernible direction,” he tweeted.
“Too many narrative focuses stacked on top of one another. Glitzy talented names hamming it up in wealth porn can be fun, but not enough to save the movie from its own messiness.”
