Biutiful - Review

The return of European indie favourite Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu sees a dying low-level criminal (Bardem) on the streets of Barcelona try to sort out his affairs before he passes, his experience made all the more poignant by his ability to communicate with lost spirits.

Homing his skills onto one protagonist and one location, which makes a radical change from his first three narrative-hopping films, Inarritu creates an undeniably profound and touching spectacle. When a filmmaker films on a single location, a location with personal meaning to them and/or central figures of the production, the risk always runs that said city will end up looking over-romanticised or unreal. Inarritu’s Barcelona, however, feels like a genuine city with some extreme characters who never fail to fascinate, but also never become too much like melodramatic caricatures. This is quite a feat as, technically speaking, the script is plagued with melodrama pitfalls and clichés – the crazy wife, said crazy wife sleeping with the protagonist’s brother, Kramer Vs. Kramer style single-dad troubles. But these aren’t the plot-points Inarritu gives credence to and characters who could easily be unlikable, and undeserving of empathy, become deeply moving – especially Bardem’s magnificent mixture of honourable grifter and loving father. Bardem is something truly incredible here, one of those performances which, alone, is worth the price of admission and then some. The performances are in no small part boosted by some eye-watering cinematography; emotionally intense close-ups and ingeniously composed wide-shots. If you have to find fault with this moody masterpiece you could take quarrel with its length, nearly clocking in at 2 and a half hours, perhaps some more conservative editing would keep the focus on the almost euphoric wonder that the sheer gorgeousness of the film emits. Saying this, it’s not really Inarritu’s style to have the flow go along too pleasantly; expect the euphoria to be broken up by some heavy-going nastiness. In short Biutiful is, well, beautiful; with Bardem giving the performance of the year.

9/10

A thing of heart-stopping beauty