Gloria

This is one of my favorite movies of all times. Gena Rowlands is a powerhouse actor in this gutsy film about survival, courage and compassion set in the fast-paced, gritty New York City of the 70s. The acting all-around is exceptional. The film is riveting from beginning to end. You get swept up in Gloria's dilemma right away. The scene where she has to decide whether to save herself and turn the kid over to his assassins is very believable as you can see and feel how desperate one would be in such a dire situation. Another great scene is at a Penn Station coffee shop where she confronts the stalking mobsters at a nearby table. You can hear a pin drop in that restaurant as she stands there saying, "I'm Gloria. My hand is on my gun in my purse!" Yet another great scene is the crowded subway where she literally throws punches with one of the mobsters who has caught up with her. Everyone in that graffiti-laden subway car presses against the walls trying to get away when Gloria pulls her gun. She says as she gets off: "Ya punk! Ya Punk. Ya let a sissy beat you, huh? You punk! Go ahead, punk!." Then the subway car closes and she and the kid get away yet again. So, get lots of popcorn, turn off the phones and curl up in bed with the lights off for this one!

I have not seen the remake of GLORIA yet, and needless to say, I'm not looking forward to it. Not to say that Sharon Stone can't play a tough female, who's self-imposed as a bodyguard for a kid running from mobsters. It is just that Gena Rowlands is so much more versatile, and her range so much wider, and I just KNOW that Stone won't be able to cut it. So, I will stop speculating, and get to the facts.

GLORIA is a film that Cassavete's made as an antidote to brainless, violent action films. All of the violence has dramatic purpose, and nothing is pointless here. This may be off-putting to fans of the action genre, but Cassavetes' contempt for the genre is what makes GLORIA more interesting. There are several unexpected twists.

When the film begins, Gloria is a street-smart woman who is kind of "married" to the mob. Gloria has a tomboyish quality that lends credibility to the fact that she has lived this long. She looks out for herself, first and foremost.

This changes when a weasel, and friend,of Gloria's (Buck Henry) is murdered by her mobster friends. Henry and his wife are killed, leaving behind a scared child. The little boy is a witness to the murder, and the mobsters make chase.

Gloria feels her maternal instincts begin to take over, and begrudgingly protects the boy. As the film progresses, however, she becomes more sincere in her protection, and she draws the line further for the mobsters. She has survived in the harsh city for this long, so it is easy to assume that she knows how to stay alive.

GLORIA is by no means Cassavete best film. There are long stretches that test your patience, that can sometimes seem static. But, as much as I dislike this quality, I am familiar with several Cassavetes' films, and understand what he is trying to achieve. Cassavetes is a very emotional director. He doesn't focus on tragedy; he is more interested in survival and the baggage that that brings. GLORIA is a thinking-person's thriller, and if you prefer big explosions and high body-counts, go and see DIE HARD 2 again. But, if you want to see something different, check this one out.

From its buildings, to its busy streets. From the people in the city, to the culture that created it, John Cassavetes perfectly captures the true essence of NYC. The true grit of the city, the core of the apple. The setting of the film is real. Unlike the remake almost twenty years later, NYC does not look like a commercial Disney Land without Mickey. Watching the film, you can smell the dirty hallways in the lower middle class hotels. You can hear the crowded Hispanic neighborhoods. And you can see what NYC is really like in Gloria.

I caught this on TV once and was blown away by its energy and spontaneity. Gena Rowlands is as good in it as everyone says, with some real surprises. The point about the kid coming out with "grown up" mock-heroic phrases at some points is that he's picked all that stuff up from the movies and listening to his parents' gangster friends. It's supposed to be funny - he keeps shouting "I'm the Man" when he patently isn't.

The movie takes action/gangster movie genre conventions by the scruff of the neck and shakes them till interesting stuff falls out. The editing and cinematography are great. New York looks gritty but beautiful.

True the film is kind of rough round the edges, I guess down to Cassavetes' improvisatory style, however it's a lot more accessible than most of his work and you should see it if you get the chance.

There must be a million woman like Gloria. They never got educated but they're smart. They're good looking, but not enough to get that gangster boyfriend to leave his wife. They hostess or maybe they just are table dressing for as long as they can. They make enough to have a decent apartment, and they hock the gift jewelry and furs and stick the money in a safe deposit box for the day they just can't do it any more. Can't smile and nod and be sweet, and the goombas look to the younger girls for attention. They try to keep quiet and keep their nose clean and ignore the young punks that treat them a little worse every year.

But life can mess up your plans, as it does for Gloria when it dumps an orphaned kid in her lap and some of her p***ed gangster pals at her door. And the decision she makes to save the kid's life means she can never go back.

"Gloria" isn't really about stuff like violence or mobsters or guns at all. It's about the hopes and wishes and loneliness of a life that represents the lives of many invisible woman. Gloria has always been a "broad" as she says. Never the Madonna, to be worshipped and respected. Always the Whore to be stepped on. And it sucks to be at the mercy and whim of men. Especially cruel, stupid thugs who don't have the brains or guts to do anything but lie, cheat, steal, and kill women and children.

Gloria reluctantly gives up her old life. She gave years of her life to these slobs and she doesn't want to lose the little she got for her troubles. She just wants peace and quiet and to be left alone. Why give it up to help some annoying kid?

But when she makes the decision to do just that, her rage and resentment explode.

Gena Rowlands gives a flawless performance that burns bright and makes the viewer feel the rage of those who hide their intelligence and personality and try to "get by" in a world of lesser men. Gloria's got more balls and brains than any of the suits that run the racket. And now she's going to prove it.

"Gloria" is what happens when adults make movies for adults. No childish chatter, no idealized and airbrushed world, no moralizing and preaching. This movie has blood in its veins.