ReelBob: ‘The Glorias’ ★★★★
By Bob Bloom
“The Glorias” is a biographical journey that traces the life of Gloria Steinem and the influences that helped shape her as a community and political organizer and activist.
The movie, directed by Julie Taymor and co-written by Taymor and Sarah Ruhl, is based on Steinem’s autobiography, “My Life on the Road.”
And, as Taymor depicts, the road is more of a home for Steinem than any apartment or house. Taymor’s major conceit is staging many sequences — most in black and white — on a bus in which the four actresses who portray Steinem during various stages of her life, converge and converse.
“The Glorias” chronologically jumps around from her itinerant childhood to her time living in India, her early work as a journalist and her decades of activism.
The film builds, depicting Steinem’s nomadic childhood as her father, Leo (a lively and charming Timothy Hutton), a roaming antiques dealer living from hand to mouth, traveled the country in a trailer with the family.
Steinem’s mother, Ruth (Enid Graham), a former journalist who had to use a male pseudonym to get her articles published, suffers a nervous breakdown and, after she and Leo divorce, spends long periods of time in sanatoriums.
Gloria, portrayed, by Ryan Kiera Armstrong as a child and then Lulu Wilson as a teenager, is an inquisitive and fearless individual, traits encouraged by her father.
Alicia Vikander portrays Steinem as a young woman, traveling through India, studying that nation’s culture and learning about the hardships endured by its women.
Vikander’s Steinem returns to the United States and gets a job as a journalist, where the chauvinistic attitudes of her male colleagues fail to deter her.
Steinem’s breakthrough is an article she wrote for “Show” magazine about working as a Playboy bunny and the sexism and abuses those women face.
Julianne Moore portrays Steinem as the activist fighting for women’s rights in the political and social arenas.
Taymor’s movie is a mix of the director’s theatricality — she is best known for directing the Broadway production of “The Lion King” — and standard biopic tropes.
Sometimes her directorial decisions mesh, other times the transitions are awkward — mainly in moments on the bus when the various Glorias reflect on actions and decisions that impacted Steinem’s life.
The quartet of Glorias — especially Vikander and Moore — overshadows most of the rest of the cast, who portray a who’s who of the women’s movement.
Janelle Monáe as Dorothy Pitman Hughes, who encourages Vikander’s Gloria to speak out in public, comes closest to holding her own. The same can be said for Bette Midler’s Bella Abzug, whose brash performance is in stark contrast to Moore’s cerebral and quiet Steinem.
Among other notable women featured in the film are Lorraine Toussaint as black activist Flo Kennedy and Kimberly Guerrero as Native American activist Wilma Mankiller.
In addition to these flaws, most men are portrayed as one-dimensional condescending and sexual cretins, with the exception of Hutton’s Leo and Mo Brings Plenty as Mankiller’s husband, Charlie Soap.
“The Glorias” provides a deep appreciation about the obstacles Steinem and her sisters overcame to win rights the majority of men took for granted.
The film is a loving and respectful tribute to Steinem and the movement she helped ignite. It also pays homage to the others who helped and walked with Steinem — and continue to do so today.
“The Glorias” dramatizes the power of fighting with intellect and compassion to make the world better not only for women — but for the entire human family.
The movie debuts Sept. 30 on Prime Video.
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.
THE GLORIAS 3 stars out of 4 (R), lewd images, language