In the bonus track of the DVD of "Gloria Bell," the film artists sought to describe the story of "an extraordinary ordinary woman." Unfortunately, we never saw much of the "extraordinary" side of the protagonist over the course of the film. To the contrary, there was a pattern of indolence and idleness in her Gloria, as well as terrible choices for the use of her time. An even greater Achilles heel was in her choice of men.
For some reason, the filmmakers didn't realize that they were not making a serious art film, but were working with material from a Lifetime Channel movie. This was most apparent in the main love relationship between Gloria and Arnold, who might best be called "Runaway Arnold." When he feels the pressure of his ex-wife and two grown children, with whom he still resides, he withdraws. This was most apparent on the occasion of a trip to Las Vegas in which he simply walks out on Gloria with no explanation. On another occasion when there was a birthday celebration for Gloria's son, Arnold vanishes from the scene without a word.
In the bonus track of the DVD, actress Julianne Moore misquoted the mythologist Joseph Campbell, who did not say that people are looking for "the feeling of being alive." Rather, he said that we were searching for the vitality of the "experience of life." Gloria certainly did not discover much experiential vitality in the course of this film.
Too much time is wasted in the film in portraying Gloria's dissolute life in bars and shallow conversations where the characters are not genuinely connecting. As described in the bonus segment of the DVD, the goal was to present "an intense journey" of the protagonist. But, for the most part, Gloria seemed to be standing still, wasting time on fruitless, mindless activity.
The film's director, Sebastián Lelio, was remaking an earlier version of the same film, which is itself a pretentious artistic enterprise. There was an interesting analogy made by actor Brad Garrett in the bonus track, when he described Lelio's style as "Chekhovian." It is true that Chekhov's characters are often indolent and idle exactly like the character of "Gloria Bell." But in the quiet moments where the characters are alone in Chekhov, there is often a profound sense of the humanity of aloneness. That dynamic was never apparent in "Gloria Bell."
In a number of scenes in the film, there were long stretches of time when Gloria was alone in her car singing to the radio. Those moments seemed self-indulgent and comic, as opposed to profound. In the classic film "Singin' in the Rain," actor-dancer Gene Kelly truly conveys the exhilaration of the human journey through song. By contrast, "Gloria Bell" is left with the unenviable fate of singin' in the car.
For some reason, the filmmakers didn't realize that they were not making a serious art film, but were working with material from a Lifetime Channel movie. This was most apparent in the main love relationship between Gloria and Arnold, who might best be called "Runaway Arnold." When he feels the pressure of his ex-wife and two grown children, with whom he still resides, he withdraws. This was most apparent on the occasion of a trip to Las Vegas in which he simply walks out on Gloria with no explanation. On another occasion when there was a birthday celebration for Gloria's son, Arnold vanishes from the scene without a word.
In the bonus track of the DVD, actress Julianne Moore misquoted the mythologist Joseph Campbell, who did not say that people are looking for "the feeling of being alive." Rather, he said that we were searching for the vitality of the "experience of life." Gloria certainly did not discover much experiential vitality in the course of this film.
Too much time is wasted in the film in portraying Gloria's dissolute life in bars and shallow conversations where the characters are not genuinely connecting. As described in the bonus segment of the DVD, the goal was to present "an intense journey" of the protagonist. But, for the most part, Gloria seemed to be standing still, wasting time on fruitless, mindless activity.
The film's director, Sebastián Lelio, was remaking an earlier version of the same film, which is itself a pretentious artistic enterprise. There was an interesting analogy made by actor Brad Garrett in the bonus track, when he described Lelio's style as "Chekhovian." It is true that Chekhov's characters are often indolent and idle exactly like the character of "Gloria Bell." But in the quiet moments where the characters are alone in Chekhov, there is often a profound sense of the humanity of aloneness. That dynamic was never apparent in "Gloria Bell."
In a number of scenes in the film, there were long stretches of time when Gloria was alone in her car singing to the radio. Those moments seemed self-indulgent and comic, as opposed to profound. In the classic film "Singin' in the Rain," actor-dancer Gene Kelly truly conveys the exhilaration of the human journey through song. By contrast, "Gloria Bell" is left with the unenviable fate of singin' in the car.