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BIUTIFULMovie Reviews
Spanish language drama about a man working in Barcelona's underworld, who discovers he's dying of cancer and works hard to put things right in his world before his death. Cast:Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, Diarytou Daff, Guillermo EstrellaDirector:Alejandro González IñárrituRelease Date:December 29, 2010DVD Release:May 31, 2011From:Roadside AttractionsRating:RLength:2 hr 28 min
Biutiful played in key cities to good reviews that at the same time were mixed. • Colin Covert wrote in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "...devastating... Viewing the film is like listening to a funeral dirge magnificently performed." • Tom Long wrote in the Detroit News, "Javier Bardem is just plain mesmerizing..." • And Dana Stevens wrote for Slate, "...difficult to endure but easy to forget." More Reviews Below...
Alynda Wheat, People: VERY GOOD(cg) "Bardem is as riveting as he is wrenching... a film that sprawls too far in scope, when all we need to know is written on that deeply expressive face."(See all of Alynda Wheat's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 110 words, 02/03/11
Mary Pols, Time: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...made with loving care. But it's also so gloomy that you're not sure who to recommend it to.... a true overdose of the tragedy of the human condition..."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 832 words, 12/21/10
Jake Coyle, Associated Press: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...tries to juggle fatherhood, divorce, business ethics and ghosts. It's mountains to heap on an actor, and truly remarkable that Bardem manages it so beautifully."(See all of Jake Coyle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 606 words, 12/29/10
Thelma Adams, Us Weekly: MODERATE(cg) "Even the gorgeous Javier Bardem cannot save this downer drama.... it collapses beneath the weight of its own relentless seriousness."(See all of Thelma Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 70 words, 12/30/10
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "...grim... offers little opportunity for us to step inside with Uxbal... all we can do is wait quietly in darkness until he's finished, or else go outside and get some light."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 250 words, 12/31/10
Claudia Puig, USA Today: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Bardem's soulful turn lends this haunting meditation a sense of hope and saves it from the contrived missteps it teeters toward."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 459 words, 01/28/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...few actors have faces that project sorrow more completely than Bardem.... he drew me into the film and engaged my sympathy..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 576 words, 01/27/11
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Mr. Iñárritu's fine and subtle instincts as a director of actors and a composer of shots are undermined by a melodramatic sense of story..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 842 words, 12/29/10
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Bardem's careworn face and sensitive presence counts for a lot. He ultimately can't save the soul of 'Biutiful,' but he makes the journey easier."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 309 words, 12/29/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...from Bardem, a performance of staggering depth, unquestionably one of the year's best.... an emotional tsunami for both the actors and the audience."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 849 words, 12/29/10
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "With intensity levels starting at 11 and going all the way to 20... exerts maximum tension, maximum death-shrouded poetry, maximum maximalism."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 637 words, 01/28/11
John Anderson, New York Newsday: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The script doesn't explore the spiritual aspect of Uxbal's clairvoyance nearly as much as it might have... Still, 'Biutiful' has some devastating moments."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 308 words, 02/04/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...few actors have faces that project sorrow more completely than Bardem.... he drew me into the film and engaged my sympathy..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 576 words, 01/27/11
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...even more morbidly obese than 'Babel' in terms of soggy ideas, elephantine with miserabilist humanism and redemption jibber-jabber."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 210 words, 12/29/10
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: VERY GOOD(cg) "The ability of Bardem's grifter character to commune with the dead is the most calming and least gloomy aspect of a film awash in misfortune and tragedy."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 719 words, 02/11/11
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "...oversized... grasping for subject matter that can seem overwrought and pretentious, Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu is brave to a fault."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 767 words, 02/11/11
Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "If you can't stand the heat, stay away. But if you want to experience a terrific filmmaker and a superb performer at the height of their powers, don't miss it."(See all of Susan G. Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 176 words, 02/10/11
KEY CITIES (15 Reviews)
Sean O'Connell, Washington Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "Watching Bardem occupy, embrace and ultimately own a multifaceted role like the one he plays in 'Biutiful' is a rare treat, and an absolute joy."(See all of Sean O'Connell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 636 words, 01/28/11
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...immensely powerful and haunting... strong stuff, it will leave you shaken. There's poetry here, and catastrophe."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 509 words, 02/04/11
Mick LaSalle, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "The film is far from a complete success... But when a director goes for the brass ring you have to respect that, watch closely and take it in."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 688 words, 01/28/11
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Ugliness earns the label 'art' in 'Biutiful'... muted, dingy colors and stark choices, a tale with a hint of heart, but not a single lighter moment to break the spell of despair."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 510 words, 01/28/11
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...devastating.... Javier Bardem conveys infinite suffering.... Viewing the film is like listening to a funeral dirge magnificently performed."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 545 words, 02/04/11
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "If Iñarritu's story occasionally is too straightforward and never less than grim, Bardem's performance makes it not just bearable but rich and compelling."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 516 words, 01/28/11
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Poverty and disease are conditions in 'Biutiful' in which one luxuriates. It's tragic realism. Still, Iñárritu sustains a level of absorbing grandiosity."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 872 words, 01/28/11
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a heavy-duty drama about love, fatherhood and spirituality.... deftly delivers both the noisy grime at sweaty street level, and the hushed calm of the hovering ethereal."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 331 words, 02/04/11
John Hartl, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Despite a commanding, Oscar-nominated performance by the always-interesting Javier Bardem, there's a quality of manufactured misery to 'Biutiful'..."(See all of John Hartl's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 418 words, 02/04/11
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: GOOD(cg) "...yet another, albeit sparer, Iñárritu gloom-fest.... It's not a slur on the director's considerable art to suggest that his might be the minority view."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 255 words, 01/28/11
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The ambiguous pleasure that it offers is the nakedly pained performance of Oscar nominee Javier Bardem... he is the saving grace of 'Biutiful.' "(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 330 words, 02/04/11
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It's a one-note character that Bardem builds into a complex emotional chord, lessening the urge to dismiss 'Biutiful' solely as an endurance test for viewers."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 264 words, 01/27/11
Tom Long, Detroit News: GOOD(cg) "Bardem is just plain mesmerizing... an overloaded agony parade that's such a grim march to devastation that it should be hard to watch. And, OK, it is."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 315 words, 02/04/11
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...uncommonly intimate... rarely has an actor anchored a wobbly movie so confidently as Bardem does here. He displays an astonishing range of emotions..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 633 words, 01/28/11
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (8 Reviews)
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...even more morbidly obese than 'Babel' in terms of soggy ideas, elephantine with miserabilist humanism and redemption jibber-jabber."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 210 words, 12/29/10
Eric Eisenberg, Cinema Blend: EXCELLENT(cg) "Though slow to start, once the story picks up its momentum it becomes an unstoppable force... truly an incredible piece of cinema."(See all of Eric Eisenberg's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 543 words, 01/31/11
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: WEAK(cg) "...you wish it would just get it over with.... a pretentious and maudlin indulgence in melodramatic overkill. In short, an Oscar nomination for Bardem."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 165 words, 01/27/11
Scott Tobias, AV Club: FAIR(cg) "But wait, that's not all! He also has terminal cancer. And his wife is sleeping with his brother. And he can communicate with the dead.... irritating, oppressive..."(See all of Scott Tobias's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 368 words, 12/28/10
Ed Gonzalez, Slant: MODERATE(cg) "...punishing, nuance-erasing ethos consistently distorts social tone... feels overstuffed, raising more questions than it's prepared to answer..."(See all of Ed Gonzalez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 650 words, 12/27/10
Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "If you can't stand the heat, stay away. But if you want to experience a terrific filmmaker and a superb performer at the height of their powers, don't miss it."(See all of Susan G. Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 176 words, 02/10/11
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Iñárritu goes beyond simply conveying the sights and sounds of the Spanish city's mean streets -- you can practically feel the grit under your fingertips..."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 628 words, 01/26/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (5 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: VERY GOOD "The safe course is to recommend the film, which seems pitilessly long at 147 minutes, only for the transcendent quality of Javier Bardem's performance."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 296 words, 12/31/10
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Mr. Iñárritu's fine and subtle instincts as a director of actors and a composer of shots are undermined by a melodramatic sense of story..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 842 words, 12/29/10
Anthony Lane, New Yorker: MODERATE "...outstays its welcome, and the director still can't resist a tempting tangent... Nonetheless, the film should be endured, for the sake of its leading man."(See all of Anthony Lane's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 595 words, 01/24/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...from Bardem, a performance of staggering depth, unquestionably one of the year's best.... an emotional tsunami for both the actors and the audience."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 849 words, 12/29/10
Dana Stevens, Slate: POOR "This forced march through a chamber of personal and sociological horrors is difficult to endure but easy to forget.... a sodden mess of a movie..."(See all of Dana Stevens's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 675 words, 02/03/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...its scant emotional rewards can't shake off the sense of a prodigiously gifted filmmaker stuck... comes to feel like a millstone around the viewer's neck..."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 985 words, 05/17/10
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: OUTSTANDING "...a gorgeous, melancholy tone poem about love, fatherhood and guilt. Some scenes are absolutely wrenching to behold. Others hit home with a punch..."(See all of Kirk Honeycutt's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 773 words, 05/17/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...from Bardem, a performance of staggering depth, unquestionably one of the year's best.... an emotional tsunami for both the actors and the audience."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 849 words, 12/29/10
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: EXCELLENT(cg) "...relentlessly grim, borderline depressing, but ultimately rewarding... boasts yet another remarkable, Oscar-caliber performance from the versatile Javier Bardem..."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 570 words, 12/13/10
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Mr. Iñárritu's fine and subtle instincts as a director of actors and a composer of shots are undermined by a melodramatic sense of story..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 842 words, 12/29/10
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: VERY GOOD "The safe course is to recommend the film, which seems pitilessly long at 147 minutes, only for the transcendent quality of Javier Bardem's performance."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 296 words, 12/31/10
20.4 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Biutiful's reviews are separated by an average 20.4 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Biutiful (45 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Biutiful's reviews cover 93.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 22,131 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 492 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 11 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Biutiful's reviews on average broke 11 days after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Biutiful's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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