Commentaire par ma-cortes

The head of a family (Buck Henry) is a mafia accountant who has been tactless in telling the FBI about some of his activities, so the whole family is about to be killed. When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, his tough neighbor Gloria becomes his unexpected guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair, Gloria (Gena Rowlands) and Phil (John Adames) go on the run in New York. Gloria and Phil will be repeatedly harassed by the killers who know the boy has seen them and could betray them. She's a woman who neither likes nor understands children, but the two will have no choice but to grow closer and confront the mobsters and the city where they're hiding. She attempted to beat the mob at their own game !. He's got a book that they want, and they're willing to kill to get it !She's tough...but she sides with the little guy !. And she's out to beat the mob at their own game !.

An exciting drama/thriller with pursuits, shootouts, thrills and human relationships. Trademark John Cassavetes effort in which he has actors plumb their souls to their discomfiting levels. Stars Gena Rowlands in the title character, she's top-notch playing a gang moll who reluctantly becomes the guardian of a boy whose parents were killed by the Mafia. One of Cassavetes's great films (Faces, Husbands, A Woman Under the Influence, Opening Night), if not the best, of his extensive career as a director, in which he is considered a pioneer of what is now known as American independent cinema. The movie marked a departure from the nonconformist avant-garde of his earlier works. It is a blend of thriller and drama, with attractive thematic narrative, and dual styles, in which Gena Rowlands, married to the director, delivers a fantastic performance. Set in New York, the city is almost another protagonist in the story. The film had an inferior remake, ¨Gloria¨ (1998) which practically copies the original, directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Sharon Stone as Gloria, George C. Scott, Mike Starr, and Jeremy Northan as the mobster.

The motion picture was competently directed by John Cassavetes. The film won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival, and protagonist Gena Rowlands was nominated for several acting awards. In 1959, Cassavetes directed his first film, Shadows (1958), tt depicted the lives of three African-American siblings in New York City and winning the Critics Award at the Venice Film Festival. His next directing effort, Too Late Blues (1961), was about the professional and romantic problems of a struggling jazz musician that failed at the boxoffice and was poorly received. Cassavetes then directed A Child Is Waiting (1963), a documentary-style portrayal of problems in the social services, it depicted life in a state institution for mentally handicapped and emotionally disturbed children. In 1968, Cassavetes had a comeback as a director with Faces (1968), which depicts a single night in the life of a middle-aged married couple. Cassavetes returned to the theme of a midlife crisis in his next film, Husbands (1970), depicting three middle-aged men. Cassavetes's 11th directing effort was the rather unconventional drama Love Streams (1984), about the relationship between two middle-aged siblings. Cassavetes' swan song as a director was the comedy Big Trouble (1986), it concerns an insurance agent who needs $40,000 for college tuition for his three daughters, but the plan may require them to murder her husband; several elements of the film were recycled from the plot of the iconic film noir Double Indemnity (1944). Gloria rating: 7/10. Better than average. The film will appeal to fans of emotional thrillers and completists of John Cassavetes' interesting career.