Watch Gloria For Free

How sad is this?

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Blistering performances.

About 30 minutes into this film, I asked someone who had seen it before if it got any better. They replied, "No, it doesn't really get any better. And yet, it's somehow worth watching." They were quickly contradicted by another person who said, "No, it keeps on sucking. That kid is the worst child actor I've ever seen, and I mean including that kid who played Seven on 'Married with Children.'" I agree with the latter. This movie starts bad and truly only gets worse. In the first 30 minutes, you will see two glaring continuity errors, one spectacularly bad special effect, and a lifetime supply of bad writing and acting.I have not knowingly ever seen any of Cassavetes' directorial work, and I am in no rush to correct that. It will take a lot of convincing to make me consider giving him another chance to impress me.Grade: 1 out of 10. Abysmal. Horribly bad in a way that makes me think less of people who think it's good.

Gena Rowlands is forthright, appropriately gritty, and generally quite marvelous playing Gloria Swenson, a former mobster's girl in present day New York City who is suddenly saddled with a little Puerto Rican boy, orphaned after his parents were killed by the mob before they could inform to the FBI. Rowlands (who deservedly received an Oscar nomination for her work) trades salty quips with the kid, busts chops, and handles a gun like a pro--and she wakes the audience up every time she gets a showy scene. Unfortunately, this script by director John Cassavetes has absolutely nowhere to go after its second act, dragging on for an extra 30 minutes. Though "Gloria" was certainly one of the filmmaker's more commercial projects, a pretentious air hangs about the film, giving it an overall feeling of stilted artificiality. Remade by Sidney Lumet in 1999 with Sharon Stone in the lead. ** from ****

I dig this out once a year to watch it and it always gets me. I've been watching this film ever since it came out! The production, including the opening credits, has a foreign feel to it. The opening has watercolor artwork that appears to have been made by a child. The camera sweeps over this while displaying opening credits as jazz music plays.The film takes place in New York City and not the glamorous areas of New York. No, here we see the seedier, gritty, grimy side of New York where children run unsupervised and people are struggling to survive.The acting here is excellent by everyone. Some people say it seems unrealistic and there might be times when that becomes apparent but you can't deny the raw, nervous energy of the film. It's hard to escape the atmosphere here. Gene Rowlands plays her role perfectly and despite her tough as nails attitude you can't help but love her character.Give this a chance. It could become one of your favorite films as it is hard to forget.

This film certainly has the gritty look and feel of an urban thriller of the 70s, and it's highlights are the street scenes, many shot from a distance to avoid real New Yorkers staring at the actors or the cameras. Real people walk past the actors completely oblivious to who they are or what's going on and it adds immeasurably to the realism of the film.Sadly, that's about the only positive thing I have to say about this film. I'm frankly surprised that this film comes from a director with as distinguished a reputation as John Cassavetes. Having said that, I'm not too familiar with Cassavetes' work with a director so can't form an opinion on whether that reputation is deserved.Anyway, what's wrong with this film? Firstly, the acting between the two leads is pretty poor. Gena Rowlands was a journeyman actress at best and really doesn't possess the acting skills or presence to carry a film. John Adames as the kid she spirits away from the mob is just plain bad, there's no disguising the fact. He's not helped, either, by the lines he's given to speak as, more often than not, they're words that no kid would speak in such a situation. On top of that, he seems remarkably unmoved by the fact that his entire family has been wiped out.The other main faults for my money are that the musical score is intrusive and overwrought, rising to dramatic crescendos at wholly inappropriate moments, and the plot as a whole really doesn't hang together. And that ending is just horrible and overly sentimental. Cassavetes has failed to arouse any real concern for the characters throughout the preceding two hours, so seeing them reunited in the way he has written just doesn't work at any level other than making it look like the ending of some hokey TV movie