Gloria Bell
Starring: Julianne Moore, John Turturro, Michael Cera, Brad Garrett, Sean Astin, Holland Taylor, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Rita Wilson, Caren Pistorius
Director: Sebastián Lelio
Based on the Chilean film "Gloria" written by Sebastián Lelio and Gonzalo Maza
Gloria (Julianne Moore) is a fun loving and free spirited woman who spends her nights dancing and seeking romance in L.A. night clubs. One night, she locks eyes with Arnold (John Turturro) and they begin a romance. Recently divorced, Arnold appears quite charming and Gloria finds herself quite smitten. Gloria must now balance her new love life as well as staying connected with her kids Peter (Michael Cera), whose relationship is on the rocks and Anne (Caren Pistorius), who is pregnant and about to move to Sweden. Arnold's true self begins to show, when he tells Gloria he will never tell his kids about their relationship. He also suddenly leaves Peter's birthday after meeting Gloria's ex husband Dustin (Brad Garrett). Gloria must choose between this newfound romance with Arnold or to continue to live the life she was happy with in the first place.
It's refreshing to see a film where the main character, especially a female one, is so in control of her life and making decisions that make her happy. Having an actress the caliber of Julianne Moore helps and she is the main reason to see the movie. Her energy is infectious and she really helps fully realize Gloria as more of a real person than a character. John Turturro is one of the more underutilized actors in the business and he injects a real sadness into Arnold. The movie never fully villainizes him, despite the glaring red flags displayed by his character, making it realistic why Gloria continues to be in love with him.
Having never seen the Chilean film on which this is based, I don't have much to compare to there. But I do find it interesting when a director decides to remake his own foreign language film for an American audience. Sometimes it works, like with Michael Haneke's Funny Games and sometimes it doesn't as with the case of Hans Petter Moland's remake of In Order of Disappearance as Cold Pursuit. Lelio is a very gifted film maker and often makes strong female driven films, which continues here. He doesn't ever try to be too flashy and lets his characters drive the film instead.
The film was enjoyable, but more so because of Julianne Moore. I honestly don't think I would have liked it as much without her mesmerizing performance.
B