Watched The House of Gucci recently. The story is made for the movies and a testament to truth being stranger than fiction. Everyone in the cast seemed to try a little too hard to act Italian and somehow missed the mark. De Sica movies get the ambience exactly right without going overboard (from the perspective of someone foreign to the culture). In that regard expectations from the movie fell short.
It is the kind of difference I would experience as a desi watching Slumdog Millionaire as opposed to the nuanced works of Nihalini or Benegal They all speak to the Indian condition but the manner in which that story is told makes all the difference. A lot of local folks have asked me over the years about Indian movies and I have done my best to steer them in the direction of the masters and often successfully.
Those gripes apart, it was an interesting movie just on the weight of the plotline. Any story that commands attention as this one certainly does, it leaves the viewer wondering what they could take away from it that maps to their world very far apart from what is playing out on the screen.
For me, it was about levers a woman chooses to use in her marriage, the unintended consequences of gaining power in this way and the ultimate tragedy that comes from all of that. There is a certain rush that comes from seizing power in a relationship that gives the person a false sense of comfort and security in their situation - it can get to the point of unshakable and unbreakable.
When that blind faith is shattered they spin out of control. More often than not, the partner has has succumbed is internally restless and seeking air to breathe. Maurizio was that person here and he made his choices that lead to his death. Ordinary people make very similar choices and they pay dearly too - even if not with their life.
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