The film is based on Steinem’s memoir “My
Life on the Road,” a concept which Taymor
chooses to employ both literally and figuratively.
Her Glorias, Julianne Moore as the middle
aged version, Alicia Vikander as the young
woman, Lulu Wilson as the teen and Ryan
Kira Armstrong as the child, are always on the
move and never at home. They’re also all put
together as co-passengers on a charter bus
ride. It’s on this highway to who-knows-where
that they discuss their hopes, their regrets and
their evolving perspective on everything from
marriage to better comebacks for misogynist
comments. Taymor checks in with the bus
Glorias throughout, as though they are live
commentators on their own story.
Taymor and her co-writer Sarah Ruhl skip
hop through Steinem’s life including both
the greatest public hits (going undercover as
a Playboy Bunny, campaigning for the Equal
Rights Amendment and abortion rights,
launching the National Women’s Political Caucus
and forming Ms. Magazine) as well the less
known private moments (missing her father’s
death, caring for her sick mother).
Shot by the great cinematographer Rodrigo
Prieto (“Silence,” “Brokeback Mountain”),
“The Glorias” works to create a kind of living
document of someone whose rise was all but
inevitable. Along the way, she forms bonds and
professional relationships with fellow legends
like Dorothy Pitman Hughes (Janelle Monáe),
Florynce Kennedy (Lorraine Toussaint), Dolores
Huerta (Monica Sanchez) and Wilma Mankiller
(Kimberly Guerrero). Bette Midler also makes a
late film appearance as Bella Abzug.