House of Versace
House of Versace
| 04 October 2013 (USA)
House of Versace Trailers

Based on Wall Street Journal reporter Deborah Ball’s widely-read book "House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival", the movie brings to light the story of Donatella, who, following the brazen murder of her brother, world-renowned designer Gianni Versace (Colantoni) at the height of his success, is suddenly thrust into the spotlight as head designer of his fashion empire. At first ridiculed by critics worldwide, Donatella falls victim to drug addiction and nearly bankrupts the company. With the help of her family, including daughter Allegra, Aunt Lucia (Welch) and brother Santo (Feore), she enters rehab to confront her demons and soon comes back stronger than ever to re-ignite the beloved Versace brand with her own vision and builds one of the most powerful and influential fashion houses ever known.

Reviews
temps_perdu

...that it shows how the mind of a deluded, dumb narcissist works. Every second of this ludicrous "movie" screamed "Donatella was here and controlled everything from the script to the acting and most of all made sure that everything was about HER". The result of this obvious intervention is a complete and utter failure. A script that would've been written better by a mentally impaired child, horrendous acting, homely "models" who couldn't walk or pose, badly, badly recreated clothes and, worst of all, the amateurish direction of Sara Sugarman."House of Versace" is a two-hour masturbation of a stupid and narcissistic woman who has hired (and controlled - badly) a team to make a film about HER (nothing to do with Versace or reality at all). It is a sordid fantasy of a self-absorbed débile, in which she is this perfect creature even in her faults and where everyone exists as an extension of herself, performing the function of adoring her, admiring her and forgiving her when she needs it. Sounds ridiculous? That's because it was. My words fail me to express how ridiculously bad it all was. Cliché after cliché. I give it the lowest rating I can.

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kosmasp

This TV movie based on the Versaces and their "relationship(s)" is nicely told. Of course there is an inciting incident with the husband (you might know what will happen, but it's about the reactions from others, especially his wife that drives this movie along). But we get a lot of other people who are somehow involved in all this.Gina Gershon goes all in with this. And she's not afraid to show darker sides and vulnerability. Actually at times it is hard to feel any sympathy for her Versace (portrayal). But then again, do not forget, she's a human being fighting against adversary. That's not an easy thing to do. It's almost as difficult as a leopard trying to change his spots. A TV movie/drama of the week, based on and around a tragic event

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Shopaholic35

So incredibly impressed with this movie. I had absolutely no idea that Versace came so close to ruin. I question what would have happened to the label if Gianni Versace had of never been killed. Truthfully Donatella and Gianni were a brilliant team despite their volatile sibling relationship. They both made Versace an excellent design house that had so much promise. Gianni was the flamboyant creative visionary and Donatella had the smart editing eye and a stylish outlook. Without each other they crumble.My main problem with the movie was that they glazed over a few key plot lines and didn't take it far enough. The leading theme was Donatella's decline into drug and alcohol addiction but there were so many other aspects they could have explored. Also I think they were pretty kind with brushing over Donatella's plastic surgery history and Allegra's battle with anorexia.Aside from that House of Versace is very insightful and entertaining. I cannot recommend it enough.

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David E Schultz

This is one of the most offensive portrayals broadcast in the history of television. Poorly written and cheaply produced it does nothing to capture the era. Gianni Versace is played by a lookalike mannequin whose performance along with a disgustingly superficial script makeover the master into a cheap fag. If you want to see the great Versace Atelier clothes or the roaring supermodel era of Miami thru 90's get a catalog, you won't find it here. Gina Gershon mopes thru her role as the fallen sister, replete with the obligatory and overdone drug problem. This offensive offering is a two hour game of charades played with fake Yawker Brooklyn/Italian accents. Versace ruled the fashion world during his short life, to have this man of immense talent portrayed in such a poor offering is a hostile and exploitive cheap shot.

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