After wowing audiences at last year’s BFI London Film Festival, ‘El Buen Patrón’ aka ‘The Good Boss’ finally arrives in the UK. This hilarious Spanish comedy is written and directed by Fernando León de Aranoa, featuring a standout performance from Academy Award winner Javier Bardem in a tale of chasing success in everyday life, no matter what the cost.
Julio Blanco (Javier Bardem) is the head of a factory that manufactures industrial weighing scales. The family business has a strong reputation in their field, and Blanco has won numerous awards in his time. Now he is aiming for a record number of successive wins for a regional ‘government excellence’ award. He will stop at nothing to get this accolade, even if this means having to sort out the little dramas within his factory himself. Nothing can get in the way of this auspicious victory.
Javier Bardem delivers one of the standout performances of his illustrious career in ‘The Good Boss’. He is jaw-droppingly brilliant here, delivering a comedic performance punctuated with moments of genuine drama. He commands the screen and is magnetic as the charismatic Julio Blanco – truly one of the best original characters we’ve seen in world cinema for quite some time.
The main element to the film’s success lies with Bardem’s chemistry with his cast. He’s having to juggle a lot of problems at once, and each mini crisis has its own set of rules and dynamics that bring out the best in Bardem and his co-stars. For instance, there’s a disgruntled employee that’s constantly picketing just outside of the factory entrance after having been laid off. On paper this is an easy comedic exchange between a boss and an ex-employee but every interaction they have adds substance to the story at hand. Their exchanges are hilarious and heartfelt, with Óscar de la Fuente delivering a great performance as Jose, whose frustration builds steadily throughout.
Manolo Solo plays Miralles, one of Blanco’s most trusted workers. He is having relationship problems which is affecting his productivity at the factory, something that just can’t happen when Blanco is so close to getting this award. When it becomes clear that Miralles’ wife is having an affair with a fellow colleague of his, Blanco has to act as a marriage counsellor to try and reconcile the situation before things get too messy. Of course, this is all purely for selfish gains, but Blanco’s efforts to sort out this doomed marriage are so funny to see unfold.
The new interns also prove to be a historical minefield for Blanco to navigate. He’s a smart, wealthy, and confident businessman, which he finds has a certain effect on the young, aspiring women that come to the factory. So much so, that Blanco is no stranger to having the odd fling or two. An effortless and charismatic charmer, Blanco finds himself in this situation once again when Liliana (Almudena Amor) takes a liking to him, and she isn’t shy letting him know. The dynamic between Bardem and Amor is sparkling and gives the film a jolt of electricity that is always entertaining to watch.
With so much going on, it would be easy for certain elements of this story to take a back seat but writer/director Fernando León de Aranoa manages to keep each story thread enthralling and immediate. In fact, ‘The Good Boss’ is one of the most gripping cinema experiences I’ve had in years, and that’s down to the wonderfully constructed storylines and the accomplished performances in front of camera.
‘The Good Boss’ is a masterfully constructed comedy-drama and hits all of its notes perfectly. The comedy is right on the money and genuinely funny to boot, but there’s a darkly humorous angle that adds some bite to all the crazy shenanigans too. Javier Bardem is sensational, and his entire ensemble deliver a wonderful and very relatable study into the everyday dramas of daily working life. ‘The Good Boss’ is a great snapshot of the mundane and how our regular problems can manifest into far bigger ones, all within the blink of an eye. This is a film that deserves a huge audience and certainly some awards-season love come next year. An unmissable gem of a film.
Curzon – https://www.curzon.com/
The Good Boss – https://homecinema.curzon.com/film/the-good-boss/
Cast: Javier Bardem, Manolo Solo, Almudena Amor, Óscar de la Fuente, Sonia Almarcha, Fernando Albizu, Tarik Rmili, Rafa Castejón, Celso Bugallo, Francesc Orella, Director: Fernando León de Aranoa Writer: Fernando León de Aranoa Certificate: 15 Duration: 116 mins Released by: Curzon Release date: 15th July 2022
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