Paulina Garcia has the face of a real-life woman in late middle age, one with facial muscles that move all the way up to the hairline and skin that is starting to slacken. Her body (which you get to know well) is quite a bit better than average, but it bears the obvious marks of a long-ago pregnancy.
Of course none of this is exotic in real life, but in movies it’s pretty rare, and Chilean director Sebastián Lelio stalks his heroine around Santiago with the enthusiasm of a man who’s discovered a new wildlife species in remote Madagascar.
The long-divorced Gloria (Garcia) hangs in singles bars catering to her age group (theme song: “I Feel Love”) until one day she meets what seems to be a catch: a divorced, slightly older man (Sergio Hernández), with a healthy sex drive and a strong attraction to her. The emphasis, alas, turns out to be on “seems.” Gloria must decide whether her dissatisfactions — inattentive adult kids, mopey ex-husband, suspicious new boyfriend — are going to keep her off the dance floor.
It is all tied to the disconnected feelings of post-Pinochet Chileans, in a way that a foreigner can’t miss, but may be unable to fully comprehend. Fortunately, Garcia — singing along with pop songs or indulging in a flashy act of revenge — is always worth paying attention to.