Frank Miller Now Producing Commercials for Gucci?

Last week Gucci debuted the trailer for the TV spot advertising its new fragrance, Gucci Guilty, and revealed that the commercial is being directed by none other than Frank Miller, legendary comic book writer.

Frank Miller is an odd choice to direct any TV commercial, but he's a really odd choice to direct a commercial for a product aimed at women. 

This is not meant to be a Frank Miller bashing.  Gfest loves Frank.  We even love All Star Batman and Robin despite the fact most people hate it.  But let's be fair, Frank Miller doesn't have the greatest track record of portraying women in a particularly postive fashion.

Take the stories selected for the Sin City movie as an example. The only woman who is not a prostitute or a stripper is a lesbian parole officer who likes to walk around her apartment naked. Elijah Wood amputates her arm and eats it in front of her. She is then gunned down by corrupt cops.

Frank Miller introduced us to Catwoman as a former prostitute. He created the first female Robin and then Elektra simply to eventually torture and kill them. Wonder Woman in The Dark Knight Strikes Again is mostly just around for Superman to have sex with.

 

Often, it seems that the only woman Frank Miller feels safe writing is one who is dependent on a man for her survival.

 

The trailer for Gucci’s ad clearly borrows a lot from Miller’s Sin City playbook: iconic but vaguely laid out cityscapes; black and white world with occasional arresting spots of color; movie stars, bars, and fast cars.  Its hard to argue that the "look" of the commercial is very cool.

 

The commercial stars Chris Evans and Evan Rachel Wood. The full-length video will make its debut at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, so we'll just have to wait until then to see if Frank Miller has it within himself to produce something that women will be drawn to, instead of insulted by.