A Middle-Ager In “Love”: “Gloria”

MV5BMzI1NjgxNDM3N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMTI4MDI1MDE@._V1_SY317_CR0,0,214,317_The excellent Chilean film Gloria (2014), by Sebastian Lelio, concerns a woman in her (late?) 50s who desires a man, acquires one, and then suffers because of his curious behavior.  Intercourse takes place right away, followed by pleasurable hanging-out, followed by the overcautiousness and divided attention of Rodolfo, the near-elderly “boyfriend.”  For Gloria, the heroine, a mini-disintegration goes on, and her conduct is sometimes repellent.  When a reasonably strong person is agonized is a concern here, and the simple uplift at the film’s end amounts to very little.  But it is there.

The picture is like an extended artistic short story, with enticing cinematics (everything from the cinematography to the white peacock).  The middle-aged nudity is ugly, though; Gloria does the full frontal.  In truth, this is part of the evidence that actress Paula Garcia (Gloria) goes the whole nine yards for her stellar role, but I wish Lelio had not required her to go that far.

She does an extraordinary job of acting, however—now amiable, now solemnly bitter—and Sergio Hernandez is unbeatable as sheepish, unthinking Rodolfo.

(In Spanish with English subtitles)