Gloria (2014)

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

The plot of Sebastian Lelio's film is straightforward: Gloria, a middle-aged divorcée (Paulina Garcia), visits a singles club, falls in love with Rodolfo (Sergio Hernandez), and then discovers the truth about him. After having been stood up twice, she takes her revenge on him and resolves to stand up to the world on her own. What makes GLORIA such a memorable experience is the way it is shot: there are very few external sequences, suggesting that the characters are somehow prisoners of their natures. Gloria's apartment appears particularly claustrophobic, the walls hemming her in both physically and emotionally. Lelio's shooting-style reinforces the sense of imprisonment; through a series of tight close-ups on Gloria's side profile we get the feeling that she cannot escape her destiny. Although fond of her children Pedro (Diego Fontecila) and Ana (Fabiola Zamora), she understands that she has little no influence in their lives anymore; with no family of her own, she does not have much to look forward to other than a life of emotional imprisonment. Nonetheless the film ends on a note of qualified optimism; after having wrought a satisfying revenge on the spineless Rodolfo, Gloria goes on her own to a party, and sees a peacock spreading its plumage. This is an important symbol, suggesting pride in one's appearance: Gloria stares as it and returns to the dance-hall, where she refuses yet another offer from a male consort to dance, and strikes out on her own. The film ends with the song "Gloria" on the soundtrack, and an extended shot of her gyrating to the music, while spreading her arms peacock-style. Although the daily grind of life might not have changed for her, she feels more confident in herself to take pride in what she has. This is her passport to escape from the mental prison which hitherto has inhibited her. With no music on the soundtrack, save for the sounds in the discos, singles clubs and hotels, Lelio's film is an intense experience, refusing to allow the audience the release of sentimentality. Garcia's performance in the central role is little short of wondrous; it must have been difficult to sustain that level of intensity, especially with the camera so relentlessly focused on her profile. All in all, a memorable cinematic experience.

At 58, Gloria is in the midst of a midlife crisis. Divorced and with a seemingly strained relationship with her adult children, Gloria is also coping with a mundane job, a potentially psychotic upstairs neighbor, and days on end of perpetual loneliness (and, oh yes, a creepy hairless cat that keeps coming over for a visit). Until, that is, she meets Rodolpho, a divorced ex-naval officer, who has the opposite problem from Gloria: he's TOO intimately involved with the lives of his grown daughters, so much so that he is unable to devote the time needed to nurture his relationship with Gloria.On the surface, "Gloria" feels like most of the other midlife crisis films we've seen, but the strength of this Chilean/Spanish co-production lies in its naturalism and in its focus on revelatory detail. Writer Gonzalo Maza and writer/director Sebastian Lelio provide enough specifics to make this a very particular story about a very particular woman. That manages to keep Gloria a sympathetic figure even when her understandable unhappiness begins to slide over into self-pity. The movie also refuses to tie its story up in a nice, neat little bow at the end to cater to audience expectations.Paulina Garcia won a number of awards, all richly deserved, for her nuanced, fully-developed portrayal of a woman whose life is all but put under a microscope for all the world to see. Yet, Garcia meets the challenge with a bravery rare for actresses her age. Sergio Hernandez matches her as the man who comes into Gloria's life but who may be bringing plenty of his own baggage right along with him.Yet, for all its insight into late-in-life romance, the movie ultimately reveals that middle-aged lovers are often every bit as petulant, jealous and overly sensitive - not to mention, clueless - as the greenest teen when it comes to affairs of the heart. Some things just never change, I guess.

Or not really. This is not a glamor movie. This is a movie about maturity or the lack of judgment and other things we may or may not learn growing up. It's also about companionship (and again the lack of it). So while this may seem like something that lacks emotion, you would be on the safe side to say it might not be your cup of tea. Because the way it tells this story, is really not how everyone will love watching movies.Attachment problems and the pursue of happiness (sort of) are in the front row. And why shouldn't an older woman not have them? Why shouldn't she also be allowed to be naked on screen (which she is and you could say and see that there is no top model on display here)? If you of course have issues with those things, you might want to stay away from it. Concerning the not having redemption, I'd say you missed out on a couple of things .... like the song in the end (might have something to do with not knowing the lyrics I guess) ...

The movie demands over one hour of your patience following flat, one-dimensional characters who can't manage complicated dialog as they engage in various boring vices. The audience is expected to take that as a resurgence of youth, life, and vitality. Whoever wrote the script on this one failed to understand that random sexual encounters differ from passion. Seeking sex does not equate with seeking love. And, a divorced woman is no more a heroine than a divorced man, based solely on a divorce which, in itself, constitutes yet another banal failure of love, not the triumph thereof. The expressionless visage of the movie's heroine for the duration of the show should reveal to even the most casual viewer that there is no "glory" in Gloria. When I pay for a theater admission, I expect to derive some measure of delight for that investment. Tonight, I was sorely disappointed. Finally, I cannot fathom the response of professional movie critics to this flavorless, colorless, and all around disappointing film. If a film becomes more sophisticated as the amount of enjoyment the viewer can derives decreases, then this one is first class. Otherwise, my review is on the mark.