Biutiful (8/10)

While "Midnight in Paris" may be one of the most uplifting movies I've seen in a while, "Biutiful" may be one of the most depressing. The film is melodramatic and somber from minute one and will not let up until the credits roll. The mood won't end there, it's going to be a movie that sticks with you. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu steps away from his trilogy of films with writer Guillermo Arriaga and into his own realm. It's just as bleak but damn does Inarritu know how to work the genre. It's a movie to remember.

Uxbal (Javier Bardem) is a man on his way to the grave. He has a life as complicated as it can get. He has two sweet and adorable kids but lives in poverty. His ex-wife wants to be a part on their family, but is abusive and crazy. Uxbal works in the underworld of Barcelona and lives in sin. He deals with drugs, street peddling, sweat shops, illegal immigration among other things. Also he can see the dead, but this is more a plot device to help Uxbal alienation from the world. Uxbal sounds like he would be a bad man, but he is just trying to survive the best he can. Not everyone in the gutters world has eyes on the stars. Uxbal is just trying to keep his head above ground. Too bad cause he's diagnosed with cancer and has only months to live. He looks to make things better for everyone involved in his life before he dies. This is not as simple or not as generous as it seems. Life in the underworld doesn't really mean your going to be all right no matter what happens.

The film is very powerful, but the bleak nature is not for everyone. The movie runs a bit long at 2:30 hours. Inarritu gets away with it in his other films because their all interlocking stories (3+ stories). Here is Uxbal and minor subplots, to long a film if you ask me. The ending is a bit empty but getting there is emotional. Javier Bardem gives a tour de force that tears down the walls. He's so great that every emotion in the film looks genuine. He was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars, I can see why. I wouldn't have mind him winning even (still up for debate). "Biutiful" is beautiful film that lives a rooted life in the darkness this world has.

8/10
Recommendation: Very dark, gloomy and depressing but emotional and powerful. If that's your thing then "Biutiful" is for you. This was my 5th most anticipated film for last year. Bardem didn't let me down (he may have passed expectations), but the film wasn't as great as I though it would be albeit still very good.