Gloria Bell

Gloria is a fifty-something long-term divorcée, with two grown-up children and with a subdued professional life. She's even a young granny since a short time. In short, all lights are red. It's only missing menopause... And then arrives Arnold, a charming guy who turns out to be stuck within a castrating environment. This film is desperately pessimistic, despite the manifold disco hits, and reminds the universal difficulty of 'rebuilding' its life, following a divorce with child(ren). The duo Julianne Moore + John Turturro is stunning, knowing that Julianne Moore is gorgeous, as usual.

Director Sebastián Lelio reprises his Chilean cinematic success GLORIA, and with the help of Alice Johnson Boher's adaptation of his own screenplay, gives us GLORIA BELL.

The story is as complex in psychological insights as it is simple in storyline. Gloria Bell (Julianne Moore) is divorced, alone, working a boring insurance job, with children growing away, ad finds herself frequenting dance clubs/bars. She hungers for romance and almost accidentally finds it in divorced Arnold (John Turturro). The manner in which they court is at once tentative and aggressive: Arnold feels compelled to 'be there' for his two grown unemployed girls and allows that situation to alter his attention to Gloria, and Gloria wants it all. In an on again off again romance the problems of loneliness and aging take focus, and while the story is rather upbeat in stagecraft and flamboyant in sex scenes, the undertone is sad.

The cast includes actors/actresses who are in the age category the film addresses - Holland Taylor, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Rita Wilson, Brad Garrett, Chris Mulkey - as well as some fine young cast members. The story focuses on Los Angeles nightclubs and Las Vegas glitz and the action is swift and well focused, especially by Julianne Moore, who proves she can inhabit this sad role credibly, enhancing the impact of the aging and lonely but beautiful single woman stance. A comedy it isn't, but the film offers insight into a realm of the population who continue to seek elusive love.

I am not familiar with the original Gloria, directed by the same filmmaker, Sebastian Lelio. However, I'm a fan of what I've seen from Lelio. Liked Disobedience quite a bit, hard not to love a film with a forbidden love affair between Rachel McAdams and Rachel Weisz at the forefront. A Fantastic Woman was also a really engrossing effort, with all eyes on leading star Daniela Vega. Here we have a film about Julianne Moore living her life and having fun each step of the way. Sold.

The film follows the life of Gloria Bell. She tries to remain chipper and upbeat even when she experiences trouble with her family and a newfound love in her life. According to her she would go down dancing should the world ever end. We see Gloria primarily trying to find love but its difficult when she puts herself out there but has to deal with the troubles the man brings. The film also stars Michael Cera and John Turturro.

This film lives and dies with Julianne Moore in her performance as Gloria Bell. Everything you see and feel is through her character. She absolutely embodies the character entirely. Shes great in it. You can tell that Moore is having the time of her life being Gloria. The film resonates because it shows a person who keeps busy in her later years but still finds the need to go out and find love. She's living the common struggles of people these days.

I have no note of comparison as I have not seen the original but you get a strongly portrayed female lead, who is living it up in the modern world. Its a very realistic portrayal of a character that you may know in your everyday life. Its a mostly happy and free spirited comic work by Lelio a bit of a change of pace from what I've seen from him but a worthy watch.

7/10

Five years after the Chilean original, Sebastián Lelio decided to remake his own movie and direct an American version starring Julianne Moore as the main character. I have to admit to having liked this more than the version with Paulina García - both performances are equally formidable, but perhaps it's my personal admiration for the legendary Julianne Moore which caused me to feel more attached to Gloria's character in this film.

This is a film for a very special audience, and many viewers outside of that audience will probably find it difficult to relate to the everyday life troubles of a middle-aged woman struggling with sexuality, motherhood, health issues and work life (just look at the audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes or the negative comments on IMDb). I mainly watched this because of Julianne Moore and since I have really liked Sebastián Lelio's work so far, and I didn't regret it for a single second. Moore is perfect and gives one of the best performances of her career, which says a lot since she was so fantastic already in films such as "Still Alice", "Far from Heaven", "The Hours", "Magnolia" or "Boogie Nights".

"Gloria Bell" feels like it's about celebration of life. It's full of positivity; it is uplifting even in its sadder moments thanks to its poignant use of music, and a refreshing breath of vibrancy drifts through every single scene. An intimate and all around glorious character study from one of the best rising directors of the last decade, with one hell of a courageous and captivating final act.

If you are under 25 you may not "get" this movie but once you have experienced more of life this movie will certainly have more meaning. And in the future when you talk about this, and you will, do be kind!