Javier Bardem always wanted to work with Alejandro González Iñárritu and vice versa – and the two finally come together with Biutiful. González Iñárritu had Bardem in mind for Uxbal even as the character first emerged in his imagination. When he showed Bardem the script, the actor’s reaction was instantaneous. “It had a deep impact [...]

Writing in The Wrap, Steve Pond says Biutiful “is as powerful as it is sorrowful; it creates, and sustains, a gentle, piercing mood that’s hard to shake afterwards. This is a film that sticks with you, with a towering lead performance from Bardem that absolutely should put him in the thick of the Best Actor race.” [...]

Writing in The New York Times, Karen Durbin takes a look at five breakout performances, including Maricel Alvarez in BIUTIFUL. “With her majestic nose and modest chin, the acclaimed Argentine stage actress and choreographer Maricel Alvarez may not be conventionally pretty, but it doesn’t matter because she’s captivating,” Durbin writes. “Ms. Alvarez gradually inflects Marambra’s [...]