Gloria Bell (B+ or 3.5/4 stars)
Julianne Moore lights up the screen in 'Gloria Bell', Chilean director Sebastian Lelio's English-language remake of his 2013 dramedy, Gloria. Gloria (Moore) is a 50-ish yr. old divorcee who works in a depressing L.A. insurance office, lives lonely in a small apartment, deals with a belligerent upstairs neighbor, is vexed by a hairless cat who keeps getting into her apartment, & wonders why her adult kids don't call her. To fill her empty hours, Gloria sips on martinis & dances at her favorite nightclub to disco hits. One night at the club, she meets seemingly Mr. Right, Arnold (John Turturro), a good dancer & even better lover. Only trouble is: he has a hard time pulling away from his needy ex & intrusive grown daughters; he's tethered to them.
Although he demonstrates an impressive re-invention of his life by losing a lot of weight, he can't stop taking family calls while he is with Gloria -- at one point she drops his cell phone in his soup! Their bumpy romance suddenly ends when she invites him to her son's (Michael Cera) birthday party, fawns over pre-divorce family pictures, & Arnold feels left-out. He disappears. She's pissed. He tries to make it up to her by taking her to a fancy hotel in Las Vegas, but once again ... he exits left when his family rings. Bereft at his disappearance & with nothing left to lose, Gloria heads out into the night on the strip. Not knowing where her future lies, she digs deep within herself, takes action, & the film ends in a celebratory way that's bound to make you smile.
'Gloria Bell' matches Sebastian Lelio's Spanish-language Gloria, starring Paulina Garcia almost beat for beat, but perhaps the familiarity of the English language, the recognizable cultural/societal milieu, & Julianne Moore's masterful portrayal of our woeful, yet plucky romantic survivor has me preferring this re-make. Gloria frequently wears a half-hearted smile; believing that if she 'appears' to be positive, she might be more appealing to others. But her ache still comes through. Offering a nuanced, insightful look into the life of complex, middle-aged Gloria, the film wonders whether an ordinary woman who's divorced, raised her kids, & is unlucky in life ... can still claw her way to happiness & meaning in her life.
Julianne Moore gives one of her best performances in a long & varied career; bearing her body & soul to present a character that lives life on her own terms. Now, Gloria Bell's plot doesn't re-invent the wheel, but it highlights Moore's brilliant acting prowess -- we pull for Gloria; even as she makes mistakes here & there. John Turturro portrays Arnold as a charming, but needy, spineless man whose family obligations too-often override his feelings for Gloria. Brad Garret (as Gloria's unpleasant ex) & Holland Taylor (as Gloria's mom) offer further support. As for other aspects of the film: the soundtrack is wonderfully earworm, but if I have one complaint, it would be that the soft, gauzy cinematography irked & detracted from my visual experience.
You know, 'Gloria Bell' is the type of film that doesn't come around often; where there's more human drama in one day of a person's mundane life than there is in mind-numbing car chases & explosions {Julianne Moore agrees}. Regardless of language, 'Gloria Bell' is just a touching, universal character study of a woman {who could be from anywhere} who must navigate all the ups & down of her middle-aged life. Just because a woman 'looks' content & 'fine' doesn't mean she's not sad, disappointed or worse. And just because a woman seems irreparably vulnerable & down-on-her-luck romantically or otherwise doesn't mean she can't make her way through the fog to the other side. And as Gloria navigates all of this, it never hurts to have some empowering disco music blaring in the background.
Although he demonstrates an impressive re-invention of his life by losing a lot of weight, he can't stop taking family calls while he is with Gloria -- at one point she drops his cell phone in his soup! Their bumpy romance suddenly ends when she invites him to her son's (Michael Cera) birthday party, fawns over pre-divorce family pictures, & Arnold feels left-out. He disappears. She's pissed. He tries to make it up to her by taking her to a fancy hotel in Las Vegas, but once again ... he exits left when his family rings. Bereft at his disappearance & with nothing left to lose, Gloria heads out into the night on the strip. Not knowing where her future lies, she digs deep within herself, takes action, & the film ends in a celebratory way that's bound to make you smile.
'Gloria Bell' matches Sebastian Lelio's Spanish-language Gloria, starring Paulina Garcia almost beat for beat, but perhaps the familiarity of the English language, the recognizable cultural/societal milieu, & Julianne Moore's masterful portrayal of our woeful, yet plucky romantic survivor has me preferring this re-make. Gloria frequently wears a half-hearted smile; believing that if she 'appears' to be positive, she might be more appealing to others. But her ache still comes through. Offering a nuanced, insightful look into the life of complex, middle-aged Gloria, the film wonders whether an ordinary woman who's divorced, raised her kids, & is unlucky in life ... can still claw her way to happiness & meaning in her life.
Julianne Moore gives one of her best performances in a long & varied career; bearing her body & soul to present a character that lives life on her own terms. Now, Gloria Bell's plot doesn't re-invent the wheel, but it highlights Moore's brilliant acting prowess -- we pull for Gloria; even as she makes mistakes here & there. John Turturro portrays Arnold as a charming, but needy, spineless man whose family obligations too-often override his feelings for Gloria. Brad Garret (as Gloria's unpleasant ex) & Holland Taylor (as Gloria's mom) offer further support. As for other aspects of the film: the soundtrack is wonderfully earworm, but if I have one complaint, it would be that the soft, gauzy cinematography irked & detracted from my visual experience.
You know, 'Gloria Bell' is the type of film that doesn't come around often; where there's more human drama in one day of a person's mundane life than there is in mind-numbing car chases & explosions {Julianne Moore agrees}. Regardless of language, 'Gloria Bell' is just a touching, universal character study of a woman {who could be from anywhere} who must navigate all the ups & down of her middle-aged life. Just because a woman 'looks' content & 'fine' doesn't mean she's not sad, disappointed or worse. And just because a woman seems irreparably vulnerable & down-on-her-luck romantically or otherwise doesn't mean she can't make her way through the fog to the other side. And as Gloria navigates all of this, it never hurts to have some empowering disco music blaring in the background.