Gloria Bell
A24 | Release Date: March 8, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
78
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews
Positive:
37
Mixed:
2
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
New York PostSara StewartMar 7, 2019
Sebastián Lelio’s remake of his 2013 Chilean movie “Gloria” is, indeed, a glorious celebration of Julianne Moore at her peak. Read full review
91
Original-CinKim HughesMar 15, 2019
For a film where relatively little happens plot-wise, Gloria Bell is oddly beguiling thanks to its leads: Moore (reliably great) embracing every square-peg aspect of her character and Turturro, whose resting look — itchy, perplexed, possibly lost — is deployed with precision in a character meant to be wildly uncomfortable in his own skin. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattMar 1, 2019
Moore — vulnerable but undauntable — lives every moment in her skin, fantastic to the last glorious frame. Read full review
91
IndieWireEric KohnSep 10, 2018
Moore’s compassionate performance confirms the strength of the original and its beloved heroine’s universal appeal. More than that, Gloria Bell proves that the best stories can be told endlessly, so long as they’re told well. Read full review
90
Arizona RepublicSamantha IncorvaiaMar 13, 2019
In a world where film arguably celebrates youth more often than middle-aged people in Hollywood, it's refreshing to see the opposite artfully done with one step on the dance floor at a time. Read full review
90
TimeStephanie ZacharekMar 8, 2019
With Gloria Bell, Lelio revisits a story he’s told before: It’s a close remake of his 2013 Spanish-language film "Gloria," starring the superb Chilean actress Paulina García. Both films are terrific, but with Gloria Bell, Lelio may have buffed out a few rough edges; the new picture feels subtler, more shimmering. Read full review
90
The New York TimesManohla DargisMar 7, 2019
As a performer, Moore can go big, and a terrible yowl here pierces the heart. But she’s a virtuoso of restraint. She shows you the rush of emotions just before they break the surface, so the hurt and confusion flicker on her face like minute shifts of light. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonSep 10, 2018
Crucially, like its predecessor, Gloria Bell maintains a warm but rigorously unsentimental tone despite material which could easily lend itself to mawkish sentimentality. Read full review
90
Screen DailyAllan HunterSep 10, 2018
Moore’s performance means that we are with Gloria every step of the way, sharing in the little victories and the jolting setbacks. Read full review
88
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldMar 19, 2019
Moore lets us see, through her quietly shining performance, that Gloria believes in love, in the way an old song can make you feel a little younger, and in the power of dressing up and hitting a dance floor by yourself, moving as if in a trance, letting the music take you to a better place. Read full review
88
Movie NationRoger MooreMar 15, 2019
Moore makes this solo moment touching, bittersweet and triumphant. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Eva SalinasMar 14, 2019
Moore leads this fresh and loving English-language take by Chilean director Sebastian Lelio of his own 2013 film "Gloria," but is well supported by other loves in her life, present and past: Brad Garrett, Holland Taylor, Rita Wilson and others. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperMar 13, 2019
This is a quiet film, moving at its own pace, reflecting life with such realism it’s as if we’re invisible guests in Gloria Bell’s life. And yet there’s something thrilling about watching such a great actress hitting all the right notes every step of the way. Read full review
83
The PlaylistVictor StiffSep 14, 2018
Moore plays Gloria with a twinkle in her eye that makes her lovable and a yearning for connection that makes her relatable. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeJun 13, 2019
Moore’s subtle, empathetic work elevates what could be dismissed as a small-scale, even banal story. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawJun 5, 2019
Whether or not you have seen the original film, there is a terrific performance here from Moore, and an equally good one from Turturro, who may be entering into his own golden years of bittersweet character work. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfMar 8, 2019
Moore makes it all play like the classic club remix it is. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshMar 7, 2019
It almost seems that Moore discovered the film and character and decided she had to play Gloria, the way stage actors take on classic roles. Moore's take brings a new dimension not only to the story but also to her career. Read full review
80
Rolling StonePeter TraversMar 7, 2019
Hollywood retreads of foreign films are rarely a good idea (did you see Miss Bala?), but Gloria Bell is a playful, pleasure-giving exception. Read full review
80
The New YorkerAnthony LaneMar 4, 2019
The story of Gloria Bell, to be honest, is stretched a little thin. For the millionth time, the female of the species is let down by the male, and that’s that. The genius of Moore, though, is how plausibly, and how patiently, she fills the spaces of ordinary living. Read full review
80
The GuardianGwilym MumfordSep 10, 2018
It’s an engaging, inventive cover version. Read full review
77
Paste MagazineOktay Ege Kozak Mar 29, 2019
Refreshingly devoid of a traditional plot and any forced conflict, Gloria instead studies how such a character can enjoy the ups and downs of life even after her family has left her behind. Read full review
75
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonMar 21, 2019
The title character in Gloria Bell is a fiftysomething divorcée, and the movie is uncommonly generous to her by the sometimes standards of contemporary Hollywood. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayMar 13, 2019
The comedy is far more subtle and elusive than laugh-out-loud. It’s a reflective, even occasionally tedious slice of daily life that relies on Moore to sell its dullest interludes — sequences that aren’t made any livelier by Lelio’s parched, washed-out visual design. Read full review
75
The AtlanticDavid SimsMar 8, 2019
Given its similarity to the original, Gloria Bell could have just been a curiosity—but the hilarious performances by Moore, Cera, and Turturro make Lelio’s return to his own material more than worth it. Read full review
75
ObserverRex ReedMar 8, 2019
But to miss it would be a shame, because you won’t find a more spellbinding performance than the inimitable star in the title role. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyMar 7, 2019
In some moments, Gloria Bell is almost an exact recreation of the original, in shot construction and edit choices, even in dialogue (the script was co-written by Alice Johnson Boher and Lelio), but there's enough freshness in the approach that makes "Gloria" a unique experience, funny and a little bit messy. The mess feels real. Read full review
75
USA TodayBrian TruittMar 6, 2019
Julianne Moore shoots and scores – as well as laughs, cries, smokes, drinks, flies and sings – in the quirky Gloria Bell, which minds a fine line between in-depth character study and offbeat romantic comedy. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeMar 6, 2019
The slimness of the plot—and its familiarity, if you’ve seen Lelio’s original film — also allows the viewer to focus on Gloria Bell’s true raison d’être: the one and only Julianne Moore. Read full review
75
The Associated PressJake CoyleMar 6, 2019
Gloria Bell isn’t a dour midlife character study but a warmly affectionate one, in large part due to Moore’s radiant, lived-in performance as a woman committed to self-renewal. Read full review
75
ConsequenceClint WorthingtonMar 6, 2019
After similarly sumptuous but somewhat tragic films like A Fantastic Woman and Disobedience, Gloria Bell feels more life-affirming, more explicitly comic. In many respects it’s a beat-for-beat remake of Gloria, with only a few cultural details swapped out, but the tale translates quite well. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMar 5, 2019
We don’t see many movies like Gloria Bell these days. Simple, adult character studies with major stars have become a rarity in today’s movie climate. Gloria Bell is sedate in its approach – it tells a story but the narrative is devoid of sensationalistic happenings and manipulative melodrama. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinMar 5, 2019
Gloria Bell is best when it’s least definite, when the conversations are full of awkward holes and the relationships are in flux. Read full review
70
TheWrapSteve PondNov 19, 2018
You can love “Gloria” and still think that Gloria Bell is an admirable reimagining that stands on its own while paying tribute to the original. Read full review
70
VarietyPeter DebrugeSep 10, 2018
Although García and Moore were born in the same year (under the same sign!), Lelio is more mature now than he was when he made the original film, and he brings that experience to the project in small but crucial ways. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesMar 20, 2019
Gloria Bell is its own thing. Lelio inflects the film with a believably Californian vibe, all washed-out easiness, and the faint feeling that so much easiness must take an awful lot of work. And Moore can so exquisitely convey two emotions at once, the actorly equivalent of patting a head and rubbing a stomach at the same time. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyMar 19, 2019
Gloria Bell is so comfortable in its skin because it’s a second skin. The talented Chilean writer-director Sebastián Lelio has done this before. Read full review
60
CineVueAlasdair BaymanJun 11, 2019
The whole affair feels perfectly adequate – nothing more or nothing less. As always, Moore delivers a nuanced portrayal of a middle-aged woman that is as sumptuous to watch as her graceful ageing on screen over decades worth of work. Read full review
40
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottMar 20, 2019
Any character study must also bring us, and its main character, on a journey. And that's where Gloria Bell, for all of its assets -- and for all of the critical acclaim being heaped upon it -- ultimately stumbles. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineJake ColeMar 8, 2019
The film’s open-ended narrative tends to be undermined by the simplicity of its thematic signifiers. Read full review
More From This Movie

78 Critic Reviews

6.6 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL