‘Gloria’

Lonely and playing only a small part in her adult children’s lives, divorcee Gloria (Paulina García) has no intention of staying home alone. Singles parties aplenty as she finds herself involved in the wholly unsuitable Rodolfo (Sergio Hernández), a man claiming to be divorced but constantly at the beck and call of his wife and adult daughters.

Heartwarming but ultimately placid and somewhat dull, Gloria is a showpiece for the vitality of the nuanced Garcia. But in celebrating quietness and honesty, director Sebastián Lelio fails to inject any impact or sense of urgency to proceedings.

Paulina García won best actress award at the 2013 Berlin Film Festival

Rating; 62%

Director: Sebastián Lelio (A Fantastic Woman, Disobedience)

Writer: Sebastián Lelio (A Fantastic Woman, Disobedience), Gonzalo Maza (A Fantastic Woman, Navidad)

Main cast: Paulina García (Las Analfabetas, Milonga), Sergio Hernández A Fantastic Woman, No), Alejandro Goic (No, The Maid)

Best of Year (2018 – female Performance)

This particular list of five was much harder to draw up than the male performance category, with a number of performances vying to feature in the five.

Rachel Weisz gave two powerful performances in The Favourite and Disobedience (she may well find herself nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar nomination) and relative newcomer Jessie Buckley was fabulous in the little seen UK indie film, Beast. The youngest on the almost list is seven year-old Brooklyn Prince, who was a sensation in The Florida Project and the oldest is Glenn Close for The Wife – a performance that many are tipping for Oscar glory.

In previous years, non-English speaking roles have topped my list – but for 2018 there are none in the top five – Daniela Vega (A Fantastic Woman) and Diane Kruger (In the Fade) were the closest, both featuring in the top 10.

So after long deliberation, my top five female performances for 2018 are:
5: Charlize Theron: Tully
4: Melissa McCarthy: Can You Ever Forgive Me?
3: Lady Gaga: A Star is Born
2: Frances McDormand: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
1: Olivia Colman: The Favourite

Charlize Theron was certainly helped by having Mackenzie Davis to play off against but with a script from back-to-form Diablo Cody (Juno, Young Adult) and subtle direction from Jason Reitman, the quirky humour of Tully was perfect material for Theron to shine.

As literary fraudster Lee Israel, Melissa McCarthy turned in a perfectly dowdy, deadpan performance that is completely against the grain for this larger than life comedic actress – and she nailed it.

It’s one of the behemoths of the year, a critical darling and yet somehow missed out on numerous Golden Globe awards – including Gaga losing to Glenn Close. Gaga is very, very good – but just occasionally I wanted her not to be so Gaga on screen.

Foul-mouthed Frances McDormand was pitch perfect in one of my favourite films of the year – and understandably picked up last year’s best actress Oscar. But she was pipped to the top of the pile by –

Olivia Colman, a British character actress who, quite bluntly, is magnificent as the English Queen Anne in The Favourite, a dark, ribald, period-piece entertainment.

‘A Fantastic Woman’ (Una Mujer Fantástica)

Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Language Film (2018), this timely Chilean drama, focussed around a stellar central performance by transgender actress Daniela Vega, explores grief and prejudice in modern-day Santiago.

With the sudden death of her older partner, Orlando, Marina finds herself ostracised by his grieving family, including threats of violence from Orlando’s adult son. But what prevents the latest from Sebastián Lelio slipping into oversimplified or overtly emotional political melodrama is the multilayered performance from Vega. As Marina, she is as steady as a rock, a history of violence and prejudice hidden behind her knowing, fathomless gaze.

Rating: 71%

Director: Sebastián Lelio (Gloria, Disobedience)

Writer: Sebastián Lelio (Gloria, Disobedience), Gonzalo Maza (Gloria, Foreign Wars)

Main cast: Daniela Vega (The Guest), Francisco Reyes (Neruda, The Club), Luis Gnecco (Neruda, No)

‘Family Life’ (Vida de Familia)

Overtly commercial family comedy drama as a feckless Martin (Jorge Becker) house sits for a distant (successful) cousin in a cool part of Santiago. With three months accommodation on offer, a directionless Martin soon starts to take on the lifestyle of his cousin’s family.

Based on a short story by Alejandro Zambra and shot largely in director Alicia Scherson’s own apartment, Family Life is something of a whimsical kitchen-sink dramedy which fails to significantly ignite.

Screened in the Melbourne International Film Festival.

Rating: 30%

Director: Alicia Scherson (Play, Il Futuro), Cristián Jiménez (La voz en off, Bonsái)

Writer: Cristián Jiménez (La voz en off, Bonsái), Alicia Scherson (Play, Il Futuro), Alejandro Zambra (Bonsái) 

Main cast: Jorge Becker (Thursday ‘Til Sunday, Inside the Mind of a Psychopath), Gabriela Arancibia (Las plantas, Bonsái)

‘Neruda’

Tedium sets in early in director Pablo Larrain’s latest bio. As with his Jackie, Larrain is never rushed in his storytelling and even a manhunt across Chile in the aftermath of World War II verges on inert.

The most famous Communist on Earth, Pablo Neruda, is a persona non grata in his own country and is hunted by Inspector Peluchonneau (Gael García Bernal) from hiding place to hiding place. Neruda is a man unwilling to play by the rules – but the problem is that as played by Luis Gnecco,  the poet is not particularly likeable.

Rating: 44%

Director: Pablo Larrain (Jackie, No)

Writer: Guillermo Calderón (The Club, Violeta Went to Heaven), Nazareno Obregón Nieva (I Married a Dumbass)

Main cast: Luis Gnecco (No, Perez), Gael García Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries, Amores perros), Mercedes Morán (Avellaneda’s Moon, La ciénaga)