Gloria

Movie Name: Gloria
Year of Release: 1980
Director: John Cassavetes 
Starring: Gena Rowlands, John Adames, Buck Henry, Julie Carmen, Sonny Landham, Lawrence Tierney, Basilio Franchina, Val Avery
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7
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Synopsis and Review

By the time "Gloria" premiered in 1980 (at the Venice Film Festival of that year where it won the Golden Lion), John Cassavetes was coming off a stellar decade where he wrote and directed films as "A Woman Under the Influence" and "Opening Night", which preceded "Gloria". The film follows the story of a former mob moll (she used to date a crime lord in New York), who is now living a rather quiet life in a nice apartment in the South Bronx, all of which she has carved for herself. Her tranquil life is thrown into disarray when her neighbors involve her in a serious altercation with the mafia. Turns out Jack (the father) is an accountant for the mob, but has also been an informant for the FBI, and that thin veil of duplicity has disappeared, and there's now a hit on all his family (including wife and kids). Jeri (the mother), asks Gloria to look out for the children, while they attempt an escape. Gloria quickly leaves with the youngest son Phil, who carries with him a ledger containing all incriminating accounts. The family is brutally slaughtered, and Gloria manages to get Phil out of the apartment complex, carrying with her a gun and a slim case with some clothes. They soon realize they've also become targets, and Gloria decides to get some money from her safety deposit box to enable their escape from New York. However this escape keeps being foiled by the tight net of the mob that is closing in on them. 

"Gloria" is a film that lives and breathes thanks to the unforgettable presence of Gena Rowlands. She inhabits the character of Gloria with determination, but also with the sense of fatigue, of someone who has seen it all, understands the rules of the game, and just wants out. The fact that she is now responsible for a child, is a new friction and disruption she did not envision, and that throws her off quite a bit. The way John Cassavetes captures the grit of New York of the late 1970s is quite remarkable, in the sense that particularly through today's eyes, it feels like a different world altogether. There's a pulsating sense of menace, but also of life, of different cultures all coexisting (and clashing with each other) in that environment (something that Jonathan Demme also captured so well in "Something Wild" and even "Married to the Mob" for instance). The film flows unflappable and driven by the sheer determination of the lead character, and while the crime/noir angle isn't particularly new, this take of an unexpected partnership such as this feels fresh. The supporting characters don't have as much nuance and dimension as Gloria. Phil's character is less well resolved (and written), and the sweet John Adames tries his best to bring to life the scared but also precocious little boy that is suddenly having to rely on a woman he barely knows to survive a very harsh reality. The production team is solid, featuring Bill Conti's score, Fred Schuler's cinematography, and Emanuel Ungaro's costumes for Gena Rowland's Gloria, who may be on the run, but does so with glamour. It's a vibrant film with a wonderful central performance, that deserves to be rewatched.