Gloria Bell (2018)

Directed by: Sebastian Lelio | 102 minutes | drama, romance | Actors: Julianne Moore, Sean Astin, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Michael Cera, Alanna Ubach, Holland Taylor, John Turturro, Brad Garrett, Rita Wilson, Caren Pistorius, Cassi Thomson, Tyson Ritter, Barbara Sukowa

Since Sebastián Lelio won the Oscar for best non-English language film with his drama ‘Una mujer fantástica’ (2017), he can no longer go wrong in South America. An Argentine newspaper immediately claimed Lelio’s Oscar, with headlines such as ‘Argentine director wins Oscar’, but the filmmaker quickly corrected that. “I was born in Argentina, but technically I’m not Argentinian, I’m Chilean. My biological father is Argentinian, but I grew up in Chile. I have a bond with my father and with the country, so I go there often. But strictly speaking I am not Argentinian.” Lelio is good at playing powerful female roles; in ‘Una mujer fantástica’ we see how transgender Marina (Daniela Vega) fights to be there and in ‘Gloria’ (2013) it revolves around an almost sixty-year-old woman who pretends to be more self-confident than she is and deep down longs for a new love in her life.

Now that Lelio is so popular, also in Hollywood, an English language remake of ‘Gloria’ has been released, entitled ‘Gloria Bell’ (2018). None other than Julianne Moore has taken over the title role from Chilean Paulian Garcia (who we also saw as Pablo Escobar’s mother in the Netflix series ‘Narcos’). Funny detail: the two actresses are only six days apart in age. Lelio decided to follow the original storyline almost literally for his remake. Moore’s Gloria is in her late fifties and has been separated from her ex Dustin (Brad Garrett) for ten years. Her days are largely the same: on the way to her boring office job, she sings along to songs that are just as likely to be forgotten as she is herself, and at night she is stuck with the naked cat of the neighbor who keeps calling her. apartment manages to enter. She regularly visits her son Peter (Michael Cera) and his son, and her daughter Anne (Caren Pistorius) with whom she takes yoga classes. Gloria still looks good (“Have you had work done”, she is asked) and regularly goes to dance parties for single people over 50. During one of those parties, she meets the sympathetic Arnold (John Turturro), who has been away from his wife for a year and is serious about Gloria. Will Gloria’s life finally take the turn she’d been hoping for for years?

The character Gloria – whether played by Paulian Garcia or Julianne Moore – is beautifully complex and layered. On the one hand she cherishes her freedom and independence, on the other she craves security and love. Out of self-protection, she laughs away her vulnerabilities. Because behind her carefully constructed facade of self-reliance, and sometimes aloofness, hides a vulnerable and desperate woman who struggles to get her life and especially her relationships back on track. Moore knows how to beautifully interpret this inner struggle and does not need words to make it clear that a lot is going on behind those huge round glasses. At least as endearing as Moore is John Turturro in the role of Arnold Tenner. Although he remains mysterious about the situation surrounding his ex-wife and his two daughters, who are still very much attached to him despite their adult age, we hope that something beautiful blossoms between him and Gloria. And that he secretly peeps out when Gloria suddenly becomes very close with her ex during her son’s birthday party, we can vividly imagine. But he’s also cowardly, because he only half-heartedly allows Gloria into his life and walks away with his tail between his legs if she gets too close.

‘Gloria Bell’ relies heavily on the acting performances of Moore and Turturro, who are very strong. This is therefore more of a character sketch than a feature film in the traditional sense of the word. To portray Gloria’s life and personality, we are presented with fragments of her life – Gloria singing in the car, Gloria attending a laughter therapy session, Gloria with her colleague (Barbara Sukowa), Gloria lying awake because of her noisy neighbor. With all those random short scenes that don’t really help the story, the film gets a somewhat fragmented character. Then it’s a good thing Moore knows how to fascinate us so much and that her actions are so recognizable. Lelio treats his main character with the deepest respect, puts her on a pedestal but is also not afraid to show her vulnerable and insecure side. He also makes his audience laugh at regular intervals at the clumsiness with which Gloria and Arnold try to survive in life. The final chord, in which Gloria symbolically raises a big middle finger at all the men in her life who have treated her unfairly, feels a bit contrived – as if it’s from another movie. Although a remake was not really necessary, this American version of ‘Gloria’ is certainly worth a look, especially thanks to the fantastic playing of Julianne Moore.