Review | The Good Boss movie review: Javier Bardem plays duplicitous factory owner in award-winning satire
- Bardem’s turn as self-serving and immoral factory boss Blanco is pitch perfect, funny and self-deprecating in this satire
- The Good Boss introduces us to up-and-coming actress Almudena Amor, who plays Blanco’s intern, and is someone to watch out for
4/5 stars
It should come as no surprise to learn that Julio Blanco, the eponymous factory owner played by Javier Bardem in Fernando León de Aranoa’s award-winning satire The Good Boss, is anything but good.
Manipulative, duplicitous, self-serving and immoral, Blanco steadily reveals to us that he is willing to do whatever it takes, including burning decades-long friendships and jeopardising his own marriage, to safeguard the future of his business.
The Good Boss bagged a record-breaking 20 nominations at the 2022 Goya Awards – Spain’s equivalent of the Oscars – winning six, including best film, director and actor. It was also submitted as the country’s official entry at this year’s Academy Awards.
Blanco is a respected pillar of the provincial Spanish community where his business manufacturing industrial scales is a major source of employment. He prides himself on running a company built on hard work, loyalty and equality, where all his employees – regardless of their background – are treated as family.
A figure reminiscent of Don Corleone in The Godfather, everyone comes to Blanco for help, whether to help get a wayward child out of jail, or to help save a colleague’s failing marriage. But Blanco’s benevolent nature is put to the test when he learns that Blanco Scales is in the running for a prestigious award, and a committee of inspectors are on their way.