Gloria Bell

Gloria Bell is a 2018 comedy-drama film written and directed by Sebastián Lelio; it is an English language remake of Lelio's 2013 film Gloria. The film stars Julianne Moore, John Turturro, Michael Cera, Caren Pistorius, Brad Garrett, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Rita Wilson, Sean Astin, and Holland Taylor. It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on March 8, 2019, by A24.

Gloria Bell
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySebastián Lelio
Produced by
Screenplay byAlice Johnson Boher
Sebastián Lelio
Story bySebastián Lelio
Based onGloria
by Gonzalo Maza
Sebastián Lelio
Starring
Music byMatthew Herbert
CinematographyNatasha Braier
Edited bySoledad Salfate
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07) (TIFF)
  • March 8, 2019 (2019-03-08) (United States)
Running time
102 minutes[2]
Country
  • United States
  • Chile
LanguageEnglish
Box office$11.1 million[3]

Plot

Gloria Bell is a middle-aged divorcée living in Los Angeles, California. She has two children from her previous marriage: Anne, a kindhearted yoga instructor, and Peter, an uninspired married man who takes care of his infant daughter while his wife is away. Gloria spends her nights on the dance floor, joyfully letting loose at clubs around the city. One night, she meets Arnold, a divorcé like herself, and the two hit it off. They sleep together and begin a relationship not long after. However, Gloria is annoyed after Arnold reveals that he still financially supports his ex-wife and two daughters, the latter of which are unemployed and make incessant demands of him. Arnold owns a paintball arena, and introduces Gloria to the sport.

Gloria introduces Arnold to her family at Peter's birthday party, consisting of her two children and her ex-husband, Dustin, as well as his wife. During a toast, Gloria unwittingly reveals that Anne is pregnant; Anne begrudgingly explains that the father is a wave rider from Sweden and she plans to move there to be with him. As the family looks at old photos, including ones from Gloria's and Dustin's wedding, Arnold feels unwelcome and removes himself, silently leaving after he receives another call from his daughters. When Gloria realizes that he has left, the whole family looks for him in a panic before giving up. Gloria leaves embarrassed.

Arnold repeatedly calls her, and finally catches up with her in a parking garage as she is leaving work. He attempts to justify his unannounced exit from the party, but when he again mentions his daughters' calls, she tells him to grow a pair. She offers him his paintball guns back but he continues to ignore her. She throws the guns back in her car and drives away. Gloria's crazy neighbor leaves his marijuana at her doorstep one night, and, in a free-spirited high, she smokes it and goes out dancing again. The next day, she drives Anne to the airport for the latter's trip to Sweden, and tearfully accepts that her daughter is grown up. Soon after, Gloria is informed at the doctor's office that she will have to take prescription eyedrops for the rest of her life as a result of her failing eyesight.

Gloria finally returns Arnold's calls and the two arrange to take a romantic trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, where Arnold has booked them a hotel. As they are settling into their room, Arnold receives a phone call from his daughters, who inform him that his ex-wife injured herself walking through a sliding glass door. Arnold refuses to cancel the trip, and the two have sex that night. They enjoy spending time together, eating at nice restaurants and lounging in the hotel's pool. Arnold continues to ignore his daughters' calls, while he has a romantic dinner with Gloria, who suggests that they take a romantic trip to Spain. He excuses himself, and Gloria is left all alone after he disappears once again. She goes back to their room and finds his things gone. Distraught, Gloria slips into a daze of drinking and partying with random strangers, meeting a married man named Jeremy and going on a hallucinatory trip. She wakes up on a pool chair missing a shoe, and calls her mother, who comes to take her home.

Arnold calls her multiple times, and she unplugs her phone in response. Still stuck with Arnold's paintball guns, she attempts to get rid of them by throwing them away, but eventually turns her car around and retrieves them, driving to Arnold's house and silently confronting him by shooting his house and him in anger. His ex-wife and daughters rush out and yell obscenities at her, but she remains unfazed and drives away, laughing while "Total Eclipse of the Heart" plays on her stereo.

At her friend Vicky's daughter's wedding, the song "Gloria" begins to play, and Gloria is asked by a stranger if she wants to dance. She politely refuses, but has a change of heart when Vicky coaxes her out. She gets on the dance floor and begins to lose herself in the music.

Cast

Production

On May 12, 2017, it was reported that Sebastián Lelio would direct a reimagining of his 2013 film Gloria starring Julianne Moore. "As one of the greatest actresses in the world, Julianne giving her interpretation of the character is not only a huge honor, it's irresistible. It's going to be like jazz, you'll feel the spirit of the original story but it'll be re-invigorated and vital," said Lelio.[5] On November 16, 2017, it was reported that the film had begun production. John Turturro, Michael Cera, Brad Garrett, Holland Taylor, and Caren Pistorius also joined the cast.[6]

Release

It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2018.[7] Prior to that, A24 had acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film.[8] It was released on March 8, 2019.[3]

Reception

Box office

Gloria Bell grossed $5.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $10.6 million.[3]

The film made $145,218 from five theaters in its opening weekend, the second best per-venue average ($29,044) of the weekend behind the blockbuster Captain Marvel.[9] In its third weekend, the film expanded to 654 theaters and made $1.7 million, finishing eighth.[10]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 190 reviews, with an average rating of 7.51/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Free of visual or narrative embellishments, Gloria Bell rests almost completely on Julianne Moore's performance in the title role -- and she's gloriously up to the task."[11] Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[12]

Gwilym Mumford of The Guardian gave the film 4 stars out of 5, saying, "there's a warm universality here that is absorbing in its own right."[13] Stephen Dalton of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Although he reconstructs the original film's narrative virtually scene by scene, Lelio strikes a more overtly comic note in Gloria Bell than in the original."[14] Peter Debruge of Variety called it "one of the great female-led films of the 21st century, passing the Bechdel test with flying colors — which explains why Moore would be so keen to remake it."[15] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote: "a transcendent Julianne Moore," the director "is acutely sensitive to the absurdities of everyday life, including the comedy of humiliation, both petty and wounding."[16]

In contrast, some film critics criticized the remake's existence. On Mi Cine Tu Cine, a Mexican film review TV program, Alonso Díaz de la Vega called it "unnecessary", "burying the triumph of Paulina García and Sergio Hernández's performances" (the original version's protagonists) and "hiding the Latin American work" as a way in which Hollywood wants to tell how to get a notion of success; while Arantxa Luna and Jean-Christophe Berjon emphasized the change of actress, remarking Garcia's performance as "more fresh" and "more profound".[17]

Accolades
Award Date of

Ceremony

 Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
AARP Movies for Grownups

Awards

 2018 Best Actress Julianne Moore Nominated
California on Location Awards December 15, 2019 Location Team of the Year -Independent Feature Film Michael Edward Smith, Eric Stangeland, Antonio J Garcia, Brian J Johnson Nominated
Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards 2018 Best Actress Julianne Moore Nominated
Satellite Awards March 1, 2020 Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy Julianne Moore Nominated

References
  1. "GLORIA BELL". Stage6.
  2. "Gloria Bell". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  3. "Gloria Bell (2019)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  4. Ramos, Dino-Ray (November 29, 2017). "Sean Astin Joins Julianne Moore In 'Gloria'". Deadline. Retrieved December 26, 2017. Astin will play Jeremy
  5. Ford, Rebecca (May 12, 2017). "Cannes: Julianne Moore to Star in Re-Imagining of Sebastian Lelio's 'Gloria' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  6. Kroll, Justin (November 16, 2017). "John Turturro and Newcomer Caren Pistorius Join Julianne Moore in 'Gloria' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  7. Kay, Jeremy (August 14, 2018). "Toronto unveils Contemporary World Cinema, more Galas and Special Presentations". Screen International. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  8. Lang, Brent; Keslassy, Elsa (August 20, 2018). "Toronto: A24 Nabs Julianne Moore Film 'Gloria Bell' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  9. D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 11, 2019). "'Captain Marvel' Tramples Internet Trolls & Skyrockets To $160M Opening". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  10. D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 31, 2019). "How Universal Drove Jordan Peele's 'Us' To $70M+ Opening, The Best Start For A Live-Action Original Since 'Avatar' – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  11. "Gloria Bell (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  12. "Gloria Bell reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  13. Mumford, Gwilym (September 10, 2018). "Gloria Bell review: Julianne Moore predictably brilliant as dating divorcee". The Guardian. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  14. Dalton, Stephen (September 8, 2018). "'Gloria Bell': Film Review | TIFF 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  15. Debruge, Peter (September 7, 2018). "Toronto Film Review: Julianne Moore in 'Gloria Bell'". Variety. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  16. Goodman, Stephanie (June 26, 2019). "The Best Films of 2019 (So Far)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  17. "Mi cine, tu cine - Paz Alicia Garciadiego (20/06/2019)". Canal Once (in Spanish). June 21, 2019.
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