Directed by: Sebastián Lelio
Written by: Sebastián Lelio and Gonzalo Maza.
Starring: Paulina García (Gloria), Sergio Hernández (Rodolfo), Diego Fontecilla (Pedro), Fabiola Zamora (Ana), Luz Jiménez (Nana), Alejandro Goic (Gabriel), Liliana García (Flavia), Coca Guazzini (Luz), Hugo Moraga (Hugo).
You
do not see characters like Gloria in American movies very often. This film, set
in Chile, is about a 58 year old, divorced woman with two grown children. The
film is about her life – spending more time on her budding romantic
relationship with Rodolfo (Sergio Hernandez) than any other single aspect of
her life. Yet refreshingly, the movie is not a How Stella Got Her Groove Back
type fantasy, or a portrait of loneliness that wants us to pity its main
character. Gloria is, for the most part, happy – whether her relationship with
Rodolfo works out or not, we get the sense that she is going to be fine.
When
we first meet Gloria (wonderfully played by Paulina Garcia) we think we know
what kind of movie this is going to be. She’s sitting alone at a bar, nursing a
drink and wearing ridiculously big Tootsie glasses. But appearances can be
deceiving, and as Gloria gets up off her chair, and starts flirting and
chatting with others, she comes alive. She’s out by herself – but not overly
lonely. She doesn’t have trouble finding men to dance with her – or to come
home with her if she feels like it – and she remains completely in control of
herself. When she meets Rodolfo and takes him home, she never expects to hear
from him again – and is surprised when she does. The two start a fun loving
affair – bonding over sex and their appetite to have a good time. He’s divorced
too – but much more recently – and has two grown daughters he still supports,
as well as his ex-wife. “You don’t understand” he tells her “They need me” –
something he says with complete sincerity even though his daughters are now 30,
and should have had more than enough time to grow the hell up. Gloria’s
children certainly have – she hovers over them, perhaps a little too
overprotectively, but nothing all that out of the ordinary – and she’s
devastated when her daughter decides to move to her boyfriend’s home country of
Sweden – but she knows that it is her daughter’s life, and not hers.
If
there is a problem with Gloria it’s that there is a sameness to many of the
scenes. The film takes its cue from Garcia’s excellent performance – which she
mainly keeps on even keel – which while refreshing, also hampers the drama a
little bit. There are a few too many scenes of Rodolfo on the phone with his
daughters – a few too many times when they break up and get back together.
While I appreciated that this was a film that avoided histrionics throughout,
it does mean that the film feels somewhat lacking in drama.
Still
though, the movie is strong enough to overcome these flaws. Garcia’s lead
performance is subtle and wonderful from beginning to end and I loved the frank
and honest way the film dealt with sexuality – most movies about people this
age either don’t have sex in them at all, or else plays it for laughs. Gloria
suggests that it’s still possible to have a satisfying sex life at that age – a
very welcome message. I cannot quite put my finger on it, but I also think
that, like many recent films from Chile, the film subtlety addresses the
military dictatorship that Gloria and Rodolfo spent years living under. It is
never explicitly mentioned – but it’s there nonetheless.
I
didn’t love Gloria as much as some people do – I found it a little slow and
repetitious in places. Still, the film is a refreshing portrait of a “woman of
a certain age” that treats her with honesty and respect. We shouldn’t have to
celebrate the fact that this is a novel thing for a movie to do, but of course, sadly we
do.
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