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Movie of the Year

There's a poem by Ammons:

One can't
have it
both ways
and both
ways is 
the only
way I 
want it.

 Ambivalence is the human condition, and that's consistently on display in "Gloria Bell." Our title character complains to a woman administering a "wax"--OW! OWWW!!!--and yet, in the next moment, Gloria is requesting further pain. ("A little more off the sides....please....")

When advised not to call her (terrible) boyfriend again, Gloria says, "I won't," in a noble, serious way, and it's very clear that she is really saying I WILL! I WILL!!!!

"I said I quit smoking," says our heroine, as she lights up a new cigarette. Gloria is (intermittently) a wreck, a mess. Gloria, c'est moi!

At a certain point in a career, an artist can be taken for granted. This is sometimes called the Meryl Streep Phenomenon (in reference to the many, many years Meryl went between her two most recent Academy Award wins). That said, it's shocking to me that "Gloria Bell" isn't on every 2019 Ten Best Films list. And it's really, really shocking that Julianne Moore's performance isn't on every Best Performances list. Are you kidding? Has Ms. Moore really maxed out on her "critical recognition" time?

I'm being melodramatic. But, anyway, Julianne Moore's performance continues to haunt me, and I'm saying it's Number One this year. I haven't seen much of anything in the past few months. I did get to take my baby to "Frozen II." I can't speak to you about "Richard Jewell," and "Parasite," and "Judy." At least not yet. But I think know who would get my Best Actress Oscar for 2019 (if I had the power to award such a thing). And someone had to say all of this. Three cheers for Julianne Moore.

P.S. The thing about the performance that is so great is the amount of "top spin" Moore puts on basically every line. A phone call to one's son could be just a phone call, but notice all the half-concealed pain and vulnerability Moore packs into each (superficially) banal sentence. And notice when she says, "When the apocalypse comes, I want to go down dancing!" She knows she is being a little ridiculous, and she is sort of deliberately self-mocking, but she is also sort of serious. It's an absurdly charming end to the scene. OK. I'll stop. Just watch the trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCwCdQK2Qss
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