The Good Boss
Javier Bardem is at his best when he’s playing characters of great conviction, whether it’s for a righteous purpose (“The Sea Inside”), or a morally ambiguous one (“Skyfall”). One of the great disappointments of his work in “Being the Ricardos” was not just because of how miscast he felt, but because there wasn’t any of the ambiguity or purpose his richest characters have had in his role of Desi Arnaz. In this wicked comedy-drama, Bardem is in peak form as a man trying to keep his company at peak efficiency in the face of an award for excellence. That might mean some dubious practices, but it’s all for the good of the company, right?
Blanco (Bardem’s character) is first seen giving a speech to his manufacturing floor. The company makes scales, and as everyone knows, the key to a scale is maintaining balance. For Blanco, him showing his appreciation for his workers is a natural- especially in front of a reporter looking to write the company up in a magazine- but when he’s confronted with a former employee’s grievances, how he was fired for the sake of profits, and now cannot afford to house his wife and kids, he’d rather try to brush it off. In the next week, he’ll have to do his best to keep things running smoothly before the committee comes to give him the award.
Writer-director Fernando León de Aranoa has made a sharp film about the privilege that comes with a winning smile, and positive attitude, even as it shows cracks in that facade that will illuminate the corruption underneath. Blanco talks a big game, but he’s ultimately like anyone else with significant power over other people- he will exploit relationships and betray loyal friends for his own benefit. Early on, one of his workers comes to him to help with his son, who has been arrested with the gang he hangs out with; Blanco offers him a job making deliveries at his wife’s shop, but we also sense there might be another reason he wants him close. His business partner (Manolo Solo), who’s been a friend since childhood, is struggling with his marriage, but his personal issues are having an impact on business, something Blanco cannot have going on. And then there’s Liliana (Almudena Amor), a friend’s daughter whom is interning at the company. That has the most compelling dynamic, because in her, Blanco seems to have met his match. All these different story threads are fascinating, and seeing Bardem move between each one, it reminded me of Adam Sandler’s performance in “Uncut Gems.” Blanco is smarter at the way he plays the game, though, than Howard was. He doesn’t win all his battles, but he wins enough of them to still come out ahead at times, even if he loses a bit of his soul doing so.
