Gena Rowlands is forthright, appropriately gritty, pithy 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) 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 nowhere to go in its third act, dragging the film out for an extra 20 minutes. Although "Gloria" was certainly one of the filmmaker's more commercial projects, a peculiar artificiality air hangs about the picture--particularly in the awkward opening scenes--giving the movie an aloof or stilted quality. Remade in 1999 by Sidney Lumet. **1/2 from ****
Review of Gloria
