Julianne Moore sings and dances her way through another memorable role in Gloria Bell, a English-language remake of the 2013 Chilean film Gloria that successfully recreates the free-spirited gusto of its predecessor.
While it may not build to any kind of profound conclusions or reinvent the conventions of the romance genre, the movie tracks the perspective of its middle-aged protagonist with empathy and lightness. In a season that has been dominated by one blockbuster after another, this serves as a pleasant detour that should resonate with people looking for movies based in something that more closely resembles everyday life.
We first meet the title character, played by a perfectly cast Moore, as she confidently makes her way onto the dance floor of a neon-tinged nightclub with a martini in hand. After a meeting in a singles bar one night, she soon begins a fling with Arnold (John Turturro), a fellow divorcee with grown children who is also hoping to start a new chapter in his life.
The film follows Gloria and Arnold through the ups and downs of their burgeoning relationship, as well as the often strained interactions that Gloria has with her son Peter (Michael Cera) and her ex-husband Dustin (Brad Garrett).
As one may expect from her stellar track record, Moore’s winning performance as the fun-loving and often impulsive Gloria is the strongest thing that the film has going for it. Whether she’s singing along to Olivia Newton-John in the car or dancing her heart out to disco tunes at the club, her joie de vivre is the emotional center point upon which this heartfelt tale finds its pulse. Of course, life isn’t always upbeat and neither is Gloria’s story, but Moore is more than capable of making the melancholic moments matter just as much as the lighter points in the narrative.
For having a character at its center that isn’t afraid to take chances, it’s somewhat disappointing that writer-director Sebastián Lelio seemed to hedge his bets a bit when it comes to the film’s storytelling. Gloria Bell is so slavishly dedicated to each story beat of Lelio’s previous work Gloria that it makes one wonder why he found it necessary to recreate it in the first place if the final products would be so similar. The story of self-discovery works about as well as it did in the original, but I wish he had found a way to give new life to this material in the process of translating it for American audiences.
The screenplay by Lelio and Alice Johnson Boher has plenty of perceptive and poignant dialogue that clues us into where each character stands without belaboring the point. In an effort to break up an increasingly awkward political conversation between her friends at a dinner party, Gloria chimes in with, “When the world blows up, I hope I go down dancing.”
With a buoyant and life-affirming tone that should resonate with people regardless of the stage in life they find themselves in, Gloria Bell rings true with impassioned wisdom and a central performance that captivates from start to finish.
Coming to theaters this weekend
Hellboy, starring David Harbour and Milla Jovovich, is a reboot of the comic book series about a demonic superhero who battles supernatural creatures from the underworld.
Missing Link, starring Hugh Jackman and Zoe Saldana, is the latest stop-motion animation offering from Laika Studios about an adventurer’s quest to find a Bigfoot-like creature.
Little, starring Regina Hall and Issa Rae, is a new body-swap comedy in which a demanding tech mogul is transformed into a teenaged version of herself.
