BiutifulMovie Reviews

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So-so

Avg. Critic Score: 58 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

Iffy for 17+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

90

The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt
Biutiful has a strong, linear narrative drive. Nevertheless, and most of all, it's a gorgeous, melancholy tone poem about love, fatherhood and guilt. Read full review
90

Boxoffice Magazine | Pete Hammond
Biutiful, which gets it name from a child's misspelling of the word, is in itself a beautiful, mesmerizing film and Iñárritu's masterpiece. Read full review
88

USA Today | Claudia Puig
Bardem's soulful turn lends this haunting meditation a sense of hope and saves it from the contrived missteps it teeters toward. Read full review
80

Arizona Republic | Bill Goodykoontz
It's Bardem's portrayal of his search for those answers that drives Biutiful forward. Read full review
75

Washington Post |
Biutiful soars to its highest points once it shifts its focus away from death to ask us how we are choosing to live our lives. Read full review
75

Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert
Surely few actors have faces that project sorrow more completely than Bardem. Read full review
75

Rolling Stone | Peter Travers
Shot hand-held with a poet's eye by Rodrigo Prieto, the film is relentless but as riveting as the world a remarkable actor lets us see through Uxbal's eyes. Bravo, Bardem. Read full review
70

Time | Mary Pols
The hardest movies to review are the ones you respect and admire but don't love and also - and this is the crucial part - aren't angered by. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Biutiful is just that sort of film. Read full review
60

Los Angeles Times | Betsy Sharkey
Sometimes it seems as if Iñárritu is literally carving out his actor's heart, so tangible does Bardem make Uxbal's fears. Iñárritu has so much that he wants to say - too much, in fact, and the film's central weakness - that he has created an emotional tsunami for both the actors and the audience. Read full review
60

The New York Times | A.O. Scott
Mr. Bardem, best known to American audiences for his chillingly persuasive embodiment of evil in "No Country for Old Men," combines muscular, charismatic physicality with an almost delicate sensitivity, and this blend of the rough and the tender gives Biutiful a measure of emotional credibility that it may not entirely deserve. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for Biutiful on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says Iffy for 17+ Heavy-handed grown-up drama has lots of mature content.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this mature drama from Oscar-nominated director Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel) is a heavy, lengthy movie filled with adult themes -- including crime, death, disease, adultery, sex, and drugs. There are many violent, scary, and disturbing images, the worst of which is a warehouse full of dead bodies killed by a malfunctioning gas heater. Very strong language includes dozens of uses of "f--k" and "s--t." There's also female nudity and sex, and characters both drink and snort cocaine. Many characters also smoke, including teens (an even younger character is said to be smoking, though vifewers don't see this). Overall the mood is very downbeat, but there are a few moments of hope and inspiration.

Families can talk about the movie's use of sex and violent images. How do these things change the tone of the movie? Do they make Uxbal's story more intense? More downbeat?
Is Uxbal a good person? Do you like this character? What are some of the good things he does over the course of the movie? What about the bad things? How do they compare? Would you call him a role model?
In one scene, characters discuss how a young boy has smoked cigarettes. Is there a penalty for his actions? What about for the other characters who smoke? Does smoking look enticing in this movie, or is it a turn-off?

The good stuff

Positive messages: Uxbal is a good man who tries to help others; even when things go wrong, the movie makes it clear that his intentions were good -- which is a positive take-away. That said, in this movie there are only a few tiny rewards for a life full of misery.
Positive role models: Uxbal tries to do his best for those around him, even if his attempts sometimes turn out badly. Though he could be accused of exploiting immigrants, he truly believes that he's helping them. He proves that he actually cares about them by his deeds. He also helps grieving families by "speaking" with their recently dead loved ones. He attempts to help his ex-wife as well, though his patience with her is quite a bit thinner, and he's also seen getting angry with his children.

What to watch for

Violence: There's a very disturbing sequence involving the death of more than 20 immigrant workers, who meet their end due to a malfunctioning heater. This is followed by a gruesome attempt to get rid of the bodies. Cops chase people through the streets and beat them with clubs. Viewers see a fresh, bloody corpse, as well as an old, embalmed corpse. The main character urinates blood on more than one occasion. Characters yell at one another around the dinner table. Some creepy figures can be glimpsed on the ceiling, looking down at the hero.
Sex: The main character's ex-wife is seen fully naked. She gets physical with her ex's brother, climbing on top of him and kissing him. Other scenes include the same woman kissing her ex-husband and trying to give him oral sex and two men kissing, with one rubbing the other's crotch. A scene takes place in a sex club where the dancers wear weird costumes consisting of naked body parts in all the wrong places.
Language: Many uses of "f--k" and "s--t," as well as "damn," "a--hole," "d--k," "son of a bitch," and "for God's sake."
Consumerism: Not an issue
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Many characters smoke cigarettes, including teens and younger kids. One boy is said to have smoked (viewers don't see him), and he accidentally sets his mattress on fire. The main character drinks beer on many occasions. The street sellers are said to be dealing drugs on the side, though viewers don't see much. A scene in a club features lots of drinking and some cocaine use; the main character gets completely wasted after a night out.

Common Sense Media An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.