Night Watch: This excellent remake is almost better than the award-winning original – Movie News

Six years after the multi-award winning Gloria, director Sebastián Lelio remakes his play with a Hollywood cast of his own – and once again it’s right on target. The result is worthwhile and can be viewed on Netflix.

When films are remade, there can be many reasons for this. However, most of the time, blockbuster films from non-English speaking countries are repackaged to conquer the larger American market. Subtitles are not very welcome there. And the past has shown that studios generally do very well at adapting concepts and copying them with higher budgets and familiar faces to make them more palatable to the masses. However, the case is slightly different with Gloria Bell (2019).

On the one hand, the self-discovery drama about a fun-loving fifty-something woman is very different from Gloria (2013) and on the other, Sebastian Lelio, the director of the original, took over the production of the remake – which, in essence, tells the same story, But adds up to some exciting aspects and ultimately produces a distinct film worth watching. It is available for streaming on Netflix,

What is Gloria Bell?

With her adult children, Anne (Caren Pistorius) and Peter (Michael Cera) long gone on to live their lives, Gloria (Julianne Moore) is at risk of feeling lonely after her divorce, until she finally finds new courage. Can’t get In contrast to her boring office life, she now spends her nights at various singles parties offered in Los Angeles.

During one of her night outings, she meets Arnold (John Turturro), with whom she soon envisions more than just a casual relationship. But when Gloria learns that Arnold has been hiding it from his daughters, the new mom begins to doubt her newfound happiness…

Old History, New Problems

American Gloria faces the same problems as her Chilean model, but ends up fighting her own battles. Not only does writer-director Lelio give his new Gloria a facelift, with fairer skin and more stylish glasses, but he also doesn’t want to simply copy her character – which wouldn’t even do original actress Paulina Garcia justice. Or Academy Award winner Julianne Moore (for Forever Alice).

While he is less subtle in the remake and therefore leaves the audience relatively little room for interpretation, his new lead actress, on the other hand, has more room to reinterpret a familiar role – for example, in an entirely new role. With the help of setting. Gloria not only has to deal with her family issues and an overbearing protagonist, but also with the beauty ideals that are becoming commonplace in LA.

Finally, we give it 3.5 out of 5 stars Possible and obvious recommendation for all fans of stories taken from life. It’s not just a parody, but an even less compelling tale of a slightly different Gloria, brought to life for tragedy sensitively and boldly by Julianne Moore – even if the American version lacks some of the suspense, it lends a subtle charm to the Chilean Gloria. has made it .