Showing @ Filmhouse, Edinburgh until Sun 20 Oct @ 18:00

Sebastián Lelio / Chile/Spain / 2013 / 109 mins

A recent survey suggests that middle age is now perceived as beginning at age 53, rather than the previously held belief of 41. Sebastián Lelio’s new drama supports this theory, with his fifty-plus protagonist cavorting through life with vivacity.

Although Gloria (Paulina García) exudes a cheerful stoicism with a vitality shunning the usual perception of ageing, like everyone she struggles. A troublesome neighbour, a growing distance between herself and her children and the nail biting mundanity of living alone, set her up as a woman desperate to share the burdens of life. So when romantic companionship with Rodolfo (Sergio Hernández) is proffered, she grasps it tightly and wholeheartedly.

Set in Santiago, Lelio’s film is a psychological study of the titular character and how her emotional state is affected by the relationship. Garcia is superb as the infectiously warm happy-go-lucky divorcee filling her time with staying out late, drinking and meeting men. Throughout the film’s opening half, no matter the circumstances, Garcia’s seemingly effortless smile shines through as she shrugs off her annoyances, portraying her pragmatic mindset.

When the relationship begins to flounder, the repeated lingering facial shots of Gloria take on the pained expression of a disaster survivor who’s given up on rescue. Her considerable amount of loss already suffered (her ex-husband’s original departure, her daughter moving to Sweden) magnifies her maltreatment by Rodolfo. Interestingly, little consideration is ever given to Rodolfo’s perspective, despite his extenuating circumstances. Instead we see how Gloria’s unreciprocated emotional investment physically drains her; her original declination of marijuana to calm herself, later heartily imbibed.

The eventual acceptance of the ugly, previously unwanted cat is a poignant example of the depths of Gloria’s desperation for company and the scene with the albino peacock is a stark visual metaphor for something that has become a shadow of its former self. Gloria is ordinary and there are many others with similar situations, and it’s this normality, this relatable humanity of her story that makes it so compelling.

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