Paulina Garcia gets one of the actress showcases of the year in this elegant dramatic comedy about the misadventures of a fiftysomething woman who’s dating again after a divorce. The film is less about what happens to Gloria than it is about how she reacts to it. We ride with her the whole way. When she’s hurt, we’re hurt. When she’s mad, we’re mad. When she’s willing to give the loser whom she’s dating another chance, she sorta talks us into it, too. We trust her. And we never feel sorry for her, because she’s too smart for that. Garcia’s Gloria is never a zany comedy caricature here. She’s a real person, vulnerable to the point of frequent literal nakedness, but with the sharp intelligence of a woman who’s been around. She knows what’s important and what isn’t. Flaky men who aren’t over their ex-wives aren’t important. Forgetting about them and going out dancing instead is, even if you’re alone doing it.
There aren’t many films today that are truly made for adults. This is one of the exceptions.