Biutiful, DVD review
Javier Bardem gives a portrayal easily worth his Oscar-nomination but he cannot carry the fate of the film.
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By Jonny Cooper 12:36PM BST 19 May 2011
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Dir: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu; starring: Javier Bardem. 141 mins, Optimum Releasing. Rating: * *
In the main extra on the Biutiful DVD, we get to see a handful of shots of director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu convening with his actors moments before a scene. These fleeting glimpses prove inspiring stuff. Inarritu explains the forthcoming scene to his actors with a conviction and earnestness that’s reminiscent of footage of Francis Ford Coppola explaining Michael’s motivation to Al Pacino on the set of The Godfather.
Clearly, Inaritu is an actor’s director (Biutiful’s actors confirm as much in the other DVD extras). His films regularly elicit difficult, emotionally-driven performances: Gael Garcia Bernal and Goya Toledo in Amores Perros; Naomi Watts in 21 Grams; even Brad Pitt in Babel. And Biutiful is no different.
Javier Bardem is the lead actor this time round. His character, Uxbal, almost literally carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. The father of two small children and the estranged husband of a bipolar wife, he makes money by convening with the dead, carries out underworld negotiations with the police on behalf of two immigrant communities, and has terminal prostate cancer to boot.
Uxbal is perhaps the most narratively put-upon character in the history of cinema, but Bardem’s shoulders are suitably broad. He pads around like a wounded bear, lugubrious yet vital, all the time dimly aware of his tragic flaw: a heart made of gold. It’s a wonderfully humanistic portrayal, easily worth the Oscar nomination it received, and it confirms Bardem’s status as probably the most under-appreciated male lead of our time.
Unfortunately, while Bardem may be able to carry the weight of the world, he cannot carry the fate of the film.
Inarritu’s sense of how to sculpt drama remains distinctly dodgy. He piles on one moribund event after another for emotional effect in Biutiful, leaving little space for nuance or genuine reflection. Add to this his tendency towards MTV-style glibness (there’s a fist-bitingly out of place nightclub scene during Uxbal’s final days) and you’re left with a two-hour dirge of viewer manipulation.
Without Bardem, this would be a truly deathly film to watch.
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