Gloria Bell (Sebastián Lelio, 2019)

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Mr Sheldrake
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2007 9:09 pm
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Gloria Bell (Sebastián Lelio, 2019)

#1 Post by Mr Sheldrake » Mon Apr 01, 2019 8:19 am

Gloria Bell

It explores the miseries of approaching one's 60s - job insecurity, children flying off or stuck in pathetic relationships, a divorcee testing out whether love is still possible (it's not), on top of that an insane neighbor screaming the night away. In the demasculinizing of the Turturro character, Lelio is guilty of piling on, especially the second dumping. Yet Gloria still shines at times, the primal scream of female solidarity, the sing-a-long to ancient disco hits, the sheer courage to endure. Moore makes many interesting choices, most notably when we finally reach the Gloria anthem, a momentary pause, before she soars with the music.

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The Pachyderminator
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Re: The Films of 2019

#2 Post by The Pachyderminator » Mon Apr 01, 2019 11:00 am

Mr Sheldrake wrote:
Mon Apr 01, 2019 8:19 am
Gloria Bell

It explores the miseries of approaching one's 60s - job insecurity, children flying off or stuck in pathetic relationships, a divorcee testing out whether love is still possible (it's not), on top of that an insane neighbor screaming the night away. In the demasculinizing of the Turturro character, Lelio is guilty of piling on, especially the second dumping. Yet Gloria still shines at times, the primal scream of female solidarity, the sing-a-long to ancient disco hits, the sheer courage to endure. Moore makes many interesting choices, most notably when we finally reach the Gloria anthem, a momentary pause, before she soars with the music.
I've been wondering about this. I liked the 2013 original. Does the new one enhance or expand on it in any significant way?

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Mr Sheldrake
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Re: The Films of 2019

#3 Post by Mr Sheldrake » Mon Apr 01, 2019 11:21 am

^ I haven't seen the original but judging by the reviews it stays very close to it, shot by shot at some points.

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Lost Highway
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Re: Gloria Bell (Sebastián Lelio, 2019)

#4 Post by Lost Highway » Mon Apr 01, 2019 12:10 pm

For me original was all about Paulina García’s wonderful performance. Much as I generally like Moore, I can’t quite imagine this with a big Hollywood star.

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Fiery Angel
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Re: Gloria Bell (Sebastián Lelio, 2019)

#5 Post by Fiery Angel » Mon Apr 01, 2019 12:25 pm

Moore is absolutely terrific, don't let the "star" deter you from seeing this.

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Black Hat
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Re: Gloria Bell (Sebastián Lelio, 2019)

#6 Post by Black Hat » Tue Apr 02, 2019 12:34 pm

Yeah she's fantastic. I wouldn't say this was an enjoyable movie, but depending on what's on your mind it does give you a lot to think, if not be scared about.

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Lost Highway
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Re: Gloria Bell (Sebastián Lelio, 2019)

#7 Post by Lost Highway » Tue Apr 02, 2019 12:58 pm

I showed the original Gloria to a good female friend. We both are in our 50s. She made me stop it because it cut too close to the bone for her.

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Black Hat
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Re: Gloria Bell (Sebastián Lelio, 2019)

#8 Post by Black Hat » Tue Apr 02, 2019 5:35 pm

I haven't seen the original, but if the ending's the same she definitely made the right move. What I think some would see as cathartic, destroyed me.

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DarkImbecile
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Re: Gloria Bell (Sebastián Lelio, 2019)

#9 Post by DarkImbecile » Thu Apr 11, 2019 1:47 pm

I'm only 35, and this still cut too close to the bone! I think anyone with even a tinge of anxiety around aging, loneliness, parenting, or relationships would have a hard time making it through Gloria Bell without reflexively cringing at least a few times. Julianne Moore gives her best performance in a long time — probably since Far From Heaven nearly 17 years ago — and one that will be at the forefront of my mind when I think of her for some time. John Turturro is similarly excellent, and I'm not sure I agree that Lelio is piling on to that character in the way Mr. Sheldrake describes: he's definitely difficult and pathetic, but not to the total exclusion of the other traits that makes him attractive to Gloria in the first place.

I suspect that the element of the film that might resonate the most strongly (and sourly, perhaps) with someone in a similar situation would be the way nearly every other character in the film treats Gloria as if she's inessential. Her world and the people in it seem to be moving past with only marginal interest in her — some of the scenes with Michael Cera are particularly pointed in this respect — which would explain why she allows herself to be sucked in by Turturro despite all of his red flags.

While I can't say any of the three films of his that I've seen — Disobedience and A Fantastic Woman being the other two — are unequivocal classics, Sebastián Lelio is fast becoming an extremely reliable director of nuanced, adult character studies; he consistently draws out very vulnerable, intimate performances from his actors that are never overwhelmed by a nonetheless distinct visual aesthetic. I haven't seen his original Gloria either, but I'll be seeking out his earlier work and am hopeful that his latest, Ema*, will play the fall festivals this year.

*Spontaneously realized to my embarrassment days later that Ema is actually coming from the other Chilean director I really admire, Pablo Larraín; my anticipation for the movie still stands, just as a total non-sequitur.

nitin
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Re: Gloria Bell (Sebastián Lelio, 2019)

#10 Post by nitin » Tue May 07, 2019 3:34 am

This was fine but felt underdeveloped. I also thought the visual style was a step down from Disobedience (although if it’s a shot by shot remake of an earlier film, that makes more sense) which felt a lot more confident. Some good acting, and a few well written scenes, but overall I was left with a fairly ambivalent reaction to the whole thing.

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