Gloria

PG

Now Playing

2h 1m

Crime

Drama

List

93%

30 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

A gangster's tough ex-girlfriend (Gena Rowlands) protects an orphaned Puerto Rican boy (John Adames) the mob wants dead.

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Critics Consensus

A comparatively commercial entry from director John Cassavetes, Gloria's pulpy pleasures are elevated by his observant touch and Gena Rowlands' galvanizing star performance.

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Audience Member

One of my all-time favorite films.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/27/24

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Alec B

Obviously Rowlands is iconic in nearly every moment she's on screen but its Cassavetes' direction that gives the movie its edge. Most other directors would end up making something more predictable and maudlin.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/09/24

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Michael F

Yes, there are a few problems with the script and some unbelievable situations but it's well worth watching for the magnificent performance by Gena Rowlands.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/20/23

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George D

Experience a rare view of superlative writing, directing, and acting, in perfect unison, not just in a few scenes, but through the majority of the film. The director John Cassavetes, also wrote it, so there was no conveyance of intent, he owned and delivered it in deliberate, gripping, truth. Gena Rowlands absolutely did the impossible. Stellar in every respect.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/22/23

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willow b

It all starts with Gena Rowlands.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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crustina d

Not one of Cassavetes better films. However, what is lost to corny dialogue, absurdly unrealistic circumstances and the worlds most annoying child actor eating up 90% screen time, there is much fun to be had watching Gena Rowlands run around with a gun in Dirty Harry fashion, but in high heels and a dress.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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John Cassavetes

Director

Gena Rowlands

Gloria Swenson

John Adames

Phil Dawn

Buck Henry

Jack Dawn

Julie Carmen

Jeri Dawn

Lupe Garnica

Margarita Vargas

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Meaghan Morris

Sydney Morning Herald

It's full of odd, jarring moments where everything seems slightly offkey. But it's still a powerful, exhilarating piece of work which whirls through its changes from humour to violence so skilfully that it seems to be all over much too soon.

Jun 16, 2022

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Richard Brody

New Yorker

The plot is a paranoid endgame in which the ubiquitous Mafia, in the know about everything before it happens, is the instrument of terminal destiny and running from death is as absurd as waiting for it.

Apr 20, 2015

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Variety Staff

Variety

Gena Rowlands is excellent as the tired woman who decides to take her chances for the boy. The kid is a right blend of understanding and childish tantrums.

May 27, 2008

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Christopher Lloyd

The Film Yap

Gena Rowlands gives a fierce, Oscar-nominated turn as a gun moll out to protect a kid from her mob buddies in this dramatic thriller written and directed by her hubby, John Cassavetes.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 30, 2023

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

SoHo Weekly News

The unexpected pleasure of John Cassavetes' crowd-pleasing, charmingly acted, 100% hokum Gloria is the confidence it shows in flourishing old-fashioned Hollywood tropes.

Nov 9, 2021

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Cassavetes was always at his best when he was making raw and uncompromising indies (e.g. Faces, Shadows), and he was invariably always less interesting when he tried to guess what general audiences wanted to see (like here).

Rated: 2.5/4

Nov 2, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

A gangster's tough ex-girlfriend (Gena Rowlands) protects an orphaned Puerto Rican boy (John Adames) the mob wants dead.

Director: John Cassavetes
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating: PG
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 1, 1980, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2012
Runtime: 2h 1m

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