Biutiful

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Biutiful is a relatively simple film. Nothing too flashy, nothing too daring. It certainly feels like a stark contrast to his earlier films like 21 Grams and Babel yet it keeps a similar nature to the previous two.

The film stars Javier Bardem in a role that's very much a far cry from his Oscar-winning role in No Country for Old Men. How so? Well, for starters, he's not a sociopath with a bad haircut. But more seriously, Bardem is much more restrained here.

Likewise, Biutiful doesn't possess the same hyperlink narrative that 21 Grams and Babel have. Granted, Biutiful does focus on a few of the smaller roles but not at a great length as Inarritu's two earlier films. Still, the narrative works...to an extent.

Though I feel that's one of the flaws of Biutiful. It has too much of the emotional weight on one character (Bardem's). With 21 Grams and Babel, the collective emotional burden is felt throughout several characters. But here, it's one character and only one whom all of the weight is on, and it just feels...lopsided.

All in all, Biutiful is an adequate film. There's nothing too remarkable about it and it feels a little long in the tooth in some scenes. But Bardem's performance and Inarritu's direction make Biutiful worth at least a look.

My Rating: ****