Gloria Bell-rm

***

Julianne Moore is glorious, beautiful and fantastic to watch as a middle-aged divorcee who is looking for a second chance for love She goes to clubs and gets carried away with the music and dance as well as drinking martinis. She falls for a man (John Turturro) who is smitten by her but has his own baggage. As expected, this middle-age romance is also complicated by their own children’s situations and their attitudes about their parents.

Chilean, director and writer, Sebastian Lelio, is apparently recreating an earlier film entitled “Gloria” which was set in his home country and received a great deal of acclaim. No doubt the current film is an acting triumph for Ms. Moore who is on the screen just about all the time and will deserve recognition for this role.

Upon reflection, as likeable the main character is in the film, we must realize that she is deeply flawed and doomed to repeat her neurotic choices unless she can gain some insight into herself. We also realize how all the men shown in the film were quite flawed themselves and not very nice people. A boyfriend who led her on and could not commit, her ex-husband (Brad Garrett) who seemed quite unconnected, her son (Michael Sera) who came across as a nebbish and one who is never around, her son-in-law to be, a surfer who also seemed quite superficial, and then there was a second guy she met at a club in Las Vegas who stole her purse and her money.

So, in conclusion, the Gloria Bell character desperately needs psychotherapy so she can appreciate her own makeup and the pitfalls of the men around her. (2017)

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