If I were a member of the Academy I would give the Best Actor gong to Javier Bardem for his heart-wrenching performance as Uxebel in ‘Biutiful’. It’s not that I do not appreciate Mr. Firth’s stunning stammering turn which will inevitably get him the Oscar, its just watching Mr. Bardem intriguingly peel back all the different layers of his complex character really transports you to such a high. He is unquestionably the consummate actor: one of the very finest of this generation.
This being an Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu movie (‘Babel’, ‘Amores Perros’) it is naturally quite complicated to say the least. So here are the mere bones. Uxbel is a chancer. He acts as a go-between for the Chinese sweatshops that make fake designer accessories in Barcelona and the illegal immigrant Africans who hawk them in the street, and he also pays off the Police to keep them of all their backs. None of that turns out well; in fact the outcome becomes fatal. And playing against stereotype this tough criminal is the most devoted father to his two young children, which is kind of helpful as his estranged wife is bipolar plus and some. Added to that is the fact that Uxbel is some sort of Medium that can talk to the recently deceased to see if they are happy about leaving, which is a mixed blessing when he discovers that he has terminal cancer himself and his days are numbered. Still with me?
It all gels together and you are soon drawn in and engaged (thanks mainly to Mr. Bardem) as this complex drama unfolds. It mixes toughness with tenderness, and despite the sheer wretchedness of operating in the seedy shadows of society and the ultimate tragedy that is to befall him there is no trace at all of melancholy in Uxebel.
A powerful and compelling movie that even as I write I know I need to go back to watch it all again. For me BIUTIFUL is near-prefect, and easily one of THE best movies of the year.
