Moore plays Gloria, an older woman who enjoys spending some time in clubs and perhaps finding a new lover. She ends up meeting Arnold (Turturro), a man in a similar situation to herself. He is also a divorcee, and has two grown-up children (Gloria has a son and a daughter, Arnold has two daughters), and he claims to be in love with Gloria. Unfortunately, strain develops between the two when it becomes clear that Arnold is often too preoccupied with his daughters, either answering phone calls or disappearing to help them.
The above paragraph is a very basic summary of Gloria Bell, and there's a bit more to this character study than just what I have written there, of course, but not really that much more. In fact, take away the lead performances and this film becomes so lightweight that it's almost ethereal (and not in a good way).
Lelio directs competently enough, and the screenplay takes time to simply show a woman getting to grips with a certain period of her life, but it never really does a good enough job of making the interesting points it could make. Hmmmm, a central character may end up realising that loving oneself and/or life is a better route to happiness than trying to fall in love with someone else? There's something staggeringly original and daring. I really shouldn't lower myself to just delivering sarcastic comments, it's just difficult when a film like this comes along and seems to be viewed as saying something worthwhile. It's not. There's a small twist on the material with the age and situation of the lead character, yes, but when you see how she goes about her day you soon realise that not enough is done to make her anything more than a tool for the final obvious point that Lelio wants to hammer home. Gloria has a problematic neighbour, who is also the son of the landlady. Anyone could be in that situation. She has an ex who now has a new partner. Anyone could be in that situation. She has two children, which is where you think the material starts to feel more relevant to this specific character, but there's very little done with them that couldn't have been done if these central characters were siblings, for example, or close friends. And I understand that I could probably make this argument with many movies. It just stands out here because of the way everything seems underdeveloped. This is a film built around a couple of fun sequences, both set to enjoyable music choices, but without anything in between those moments to reward the patience of viewers.
Moore is as wonderful as ever in the main role, and she deserves better material to work with (although I can see why she would be drawn to this, considering the highlights and the fact that it allows her to be in almost every scene, which doesn't happen enough for such a great actress). Turturro is also as good as he usually is, portraying a different riff on the kind of character we have seen him play quite often throughout his career. The supporting cast includes Caren Pistorius, Michael Cera, Brad Garrett, Holland Taylor, and, the person I was most pleasantly surprised to see, Jeanne Tripplehorn (who deserves more roles in things I may see, cannot recall the last time I saw her in a major release). Everyone does good work, even if they are underserved by a script that is rightly more concerned with things as they are viewed and experienced by Gloria.
Although not a terrible film, I cannot think of many people who will come away from Gloria Bell thinking that their day was better for having watched it. Moore fans will get enjoyment from it, but I am hoping that whatever her next lead role is will also give her a better movie to match her considerable talent. Because this was a disappointment.
4/10
The movie can be bought here.
Americans can buy it here.
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