Lady Gaga mesmerises as House Of Gucci's scheming Black Widow

A fantastic performance from Lady Gaga more than manages to keep interest alive in this epic, at times slightly rambling, chronicle of the fall of the House Of Gucci, a film which comes with a punishingly long running time of more than two and a half hours.

Maybe it’s not a performance quite as remarkable as the one she delivered in A Star Is Born, but then again A Star Is Born is a much better film overall.

But certainly it shows her incredible versatility – for this is a very, very different part to play, someone who has got to sit somewhere between scheming minx and grievously wronged wife.

Lady Gaga is Patrizia Reggiani, the ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci, who plotted to kill her husband, the grandson of renowned fashion designer Guccio Gucci.

She received 29 years in jail for her pains.

Maurizio’s father – the ailing and arch Rodolfo, beautifully by Jeremy Irons – claims to see straight through her as a gold-digger when she first gets her hooks into the rather dull Maurizio, a law student, rather unassuming, rather characterless in fact.

The result is a rift in the family, with Maurizio working instead for Rodolfo’s brother, Aldo Gucci – who ran the fashion house for 33 years until the mid-1980s – another great performance, this time from Al Pacino.