In ‘The Good Boss’, Julio Blanco (Javier Bardem) is the owner of an industrial scales manufacturing business, who sets out to resolve all the problems of his workers in time for an all-important inspection visit from the committee that could give his company a coveted award for excellence.  However, despite his grandiose claims in an extended speech that the company is really just a big family whom he cares for like his own, his quick-fix solutions fail dismally.  Underneath that smiling veneer, his immorality eventually shines through, as does his lack of principles and the ruthless nature that arises from having such a single goal.

Javier Bardem as Julio Blanco 

Also, his ‘big family’ proves to be more dysfunctional than he cares to admit, at home as well as at work.   Amid handshakes and back slaps, people’s lives are destroyed by ruthless sackings, as with José (Oscar de la Fuente) who takes it very badly.  To Blanco’s acute distress, the destitute and desperate fired employee sets up a protest camp on a piece of wasteland across from the grand entrance gate to the factory. As  the land belongs to no one, the police are unable to dislodge the solitary, screaming protestor or remove his noisy loudspeaker, which is not only stressing out Blanco, given the imminent arrival of the inspectors, but is also affecting the ears of the porter guard.   Being supplied with ear protectors does not solve the problem, especially as the guard is equally concerned that José’s slogans and phrases on the placards do not rhyme properly, which he finds thoroughly off-putting.

At home, Blanco’s pride and joy is a wall covered with an array of awards, flouting one empty stand that awaits. His style and gestures are grandiose, but the false generosity conceals elements of pure evil. As a teenage delinquent, he pinned a misdemeanour on his best mate Miralles (a superb performance by Manolo Blanco) now his second in command at the factory. How as an adult, Blanco is still unable to admit his lie … even as Miralles is falling apart at the seams, with pain and distress at his wife’s unfaithfulness with handsome Moroccan logistics manager Khaled and her persistent demand for ‘air’.

Tarik Rmili as Khaled

When the marital crisis starts affecting  Miralles’ work at the factory, jeopardizing the all-important award, being best mates since they were kids, clearly amounts to very little in Blanco’s mind with disturbing results.  Blanco’s own marriage has descended to a level of mere tolerance, rather than affection, and his amorality extends to serial womanizing, in particular with his interns.  The seduction of the attractive new girl Liliana (new star on the block, Almudena Amor) that leads to a ‘spectacularly’ sexy one-night stand, initiates a sequence of events that he could never have anticipated, with unsuspected long-term consequences.

Almudena Amor as Liliana

Blanco unsettles the hierarchical imbalance at this factory of scales.    The satire and black comedy are lethal in their ferocity as the film races along, interspersed with nicely-paced visual gags. Bardem as Blanco is superb. He barely needs words, as the complexity of his thoughts and emotions shine through his body language and facial expressions.  Bardem carries the film effortlessly down to the finest detail and León de Aranoa’s grasp of the combination of morality, satire, pain and comedy is masterly.  León de Aranoa has shown an interest in the machinations of power in many guises, and here it is laced with hypocrisy, invisible cyanide, and much humour. 

Manolo Solo as Miralles

Blanco’s never-ending attempts at manipulation lead to farcical situations and gags that fall, one upon the other, in some cases leading to some good belly- laughs but in some cases, twisting and leading to tragedy.  Critics have not been that kind to this movie, but it has a good pace as it twists and turns with agility keeping you firmly on your seat

Fernando Albizu as the  Gate Guard and Oscar de la Fuente as José the fired employee

Fernando León de Aranoa and Javier Bardem have worked together on three productions now, from Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar (2017), in which Bardem starred with his wife Penélope Cruz, to the moving Mondays in the Sun (2002) set in the aftermath of the closures of the Vigo Shipyards. Now, we have The Good Boss (2021).   León de Aranoa has proved many a time to have a genuine knack for delirious comedy. We hope that we will see yet more where these came from.

Fernando Leó de Aranoa

THE GOOD BOSS (2021) will be released in Spain on October 15th 2021- TBA in the UK

Director/ Writer: Fernando León de Aranoa / Producers: Fernando León de Aranoa and Jaume Roures / DOP: Pau Esteve Birba / Music Zeltia Montes/ Editor: Vanessa Marimbert/ MK2

Cast: Javier Bardem, Almudena Amor, Manolo Solo, María de Nati, Mara Gil. Oscar de la Fuente and Tarik Rmili