Elaine Sealey – Google

Set in 1938 Ian McKellan plays a dark character desperately trying to hold on to his job, and associated benefits, as a theatre critic for a major newspaper. Well shot and despite great portrayals by Ian McKellan, Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong and Lesley Manville, the film has several slow sections yet rushes through the final stings in the tail of the story. Don’t lose concentration or you’ll miss the relationship tangle towards the end!

Giving this four stars because it’s better than three but there’s no three and half option! I had no idea about the true story of the Guccis so accepted everything I watched but if you do you may well be much more critical. Having read more afterwards I realise there are great gaping holes in the accuracy of this part of their tumultuous story. The tax evasion & copyright scenes are a bit flaky, as is the period leading up to the assassination. As for the complete suggestion that they only had one child, I’m at a loss to understand that! Lady Gaga was good, her performance had you liking, disliking and feeling sympathy for her in equal measures. Again because I had no prior knowledge I didn’t know if Adam Driver was an awkward actor or if it was a good portrayal of the character. I’ve read that in reality Maurizio’s character did change but this wasn’t immediately obvious during the film. The music was good, Jared Leto’s portrayal of Paulo Gucci was funny, again possibly not if you are better informed of the truth! Despite being over two and a half hours long, from mid point onwards it felt a bit like certain events were rushed and skimmed over when they could have shown in better detail. It’s a good film and definitely worth a watch but if you’re paying £15+ per person like my local cinema, you may question whether that’s good value for money!