11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not so good remake, March 23, 2002
This review is from: Gloria (DVD)
Movies which are remakes, such as Gloria, can make things difficult for yours truly. My first instinct is to compare them to the original. Then I realize that, more often than not, most of my readers haven't seen the original, unless it's famous, like Psycho or The Mummy. The situation is akin to that tag-line at the start of all movies on video these days. That's the one that tells you the movie has been formatted to fit this [TV] screen. What that means is that about a third of the movie image has been chopped off. Yet, if you didn't see the film in a theater, you don't miss what you never saw.
For the record, the original Gloria came out in 1980. It was a small independent film by John Cassevetes starring his wife, Gena Rowlands. I recall it's being a tight, first rate thriller about a gangster's girlfriend's one chance of doing good. The role was tailored for Rowlands, and her performance alone is well worth seeing the movie, if you can find it. My other memory of it is that it was shockingly violent for its time.
The new version of Gloria is fairly faithful to the original plot. Gloria, this time played by the underrated Sharon Stone, has just gotten out of prison, where she has served three years to save the skin of her gangster boyfriend, Frank [Jeremy Northam]. During her stay in the slammer, she's had a lot of time to think. She thinks, for instance, about how Frank never once visited her. She goes to Frank and tells him that the relationship is over and that all she wants is the large sum of money he promised her for taking the rap for him. He refuses to give it to her.
Meanwhile, the gang's accountant has tried to give himself some protection by creating a computer disk which has the names of all those involved in the outfit's criminal activities. The plan backfires, and, in trying to get the disk, one of Frank's trigger happy henchmen kills the accountant, as well as his wife, mother and daughter. Only his eight-year old son Nicky [Jean-Luke Figueroa] escapes, but is quickly caught and brought to Frank's apartment. It is there that Gloria and Nicky's paths cross. Gloria must decide whether or not to risk her life in order to save the boy.
Gloria was directed by Sidney Lumet, whose credits include Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon and Murder on the Orient Express. This sophisticated New Yorker here fails to deliver a superior film. The photography of the New York locales is superb, and Howard Shore delivers a great music score. Gloria is one of the screen's most memorable characters and certainly one of its most unlikely heroines. She is streetwise, tough, shrewd and very self-centered. Doing the right thing does not come naturally to her. Sharon Stone undoubtedly could have given a performance equal to Gena Rowland's, if only the movie had stayed more focused on her. This new version is also hampered by a couple of plot holes, each bigger than the one that sank the Titanic. Still, assuming you have not seen the original, this should be fairly decent escapist entertainment.
In a comment on our times, the violence in the new version is much more graphic, yet by modern standards, it's fairly tame.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A different Sharon Stone!, July 4, 2001
This review is from: Gloria (DVD)
Sharon Stone has proven that she is capable of handling any acting role! But it is up to us to go with what ever character type we like most. Here we see her as a caring woman after she gets cheated by her gang and rescues a child to whom she became a mother figure!
The element of suspense is there. The element of sweet unique drama is there and the satisfaction shall be there too if you can accept Stone in this new mold..
PS The point that we are not used to see Sharon Stone in such a role... doesn't mean we can't accept her out of the sexy manipulative character as in Basic Instinct or Diabolique!
I advise you to rent at least! It's worth it.
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL, May 9, 2003
I have read the other reviews on this rendition of "Gloria", and I believe every one of those ranks the Gena Rowlands original as the better production. I disagree. I much preferred the Sharon Stone version. I rented both versions and saw the Gena Rowlands version first. The next night a saw the Sharon Stone version. I much preferred the Sharon Stone version, and I placed an order to buy a copy tonight.
The language is more poignant in the Stone version, and some people may be turned off by this. But I see this as being typical of the type of characters being portrayed. Remember, Gloria has just served 3 years in prison for a crime she did not commit. Then her boy friend would not give her the money he promised for taking the rap. The language is similar to that being heard today on the Soprano series.
The original version was good, the remake is better. Photography is better - I loved the car chase scene.
This is an enjoyable suspenseful film to watch.
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