Most of the narrative takes place in the Blancos Básculas factory, and the cinematography works to effectively contrast the messiness of Blanco and his employees against the sterile corporate setting (and the extremely on-the-nose visual of mechanical scales), revealing the idea of the benevolent capitalist as being just that: an idea, an artifice, a fabrication.īardem is brilliant as the “protagonist” of the piece, selling both Blanco’s squeaky-clean image and the selfish core beneath it excellently, and representing his gradual descent into madness and desperation in a consistently engaging way. While not every point manages to quite stick the landing, the script more or less manages to work these various complex components into a coherent and gripping mechanism, striking a good balance between comedic chops, character pathos and cutting satire. It’s a story with a lot to say, covering topics such as institutional discrimination, class divides and the harmful nature of capitalism, in addition to the increasingly complex web of interpersonal drama that Blanco finds himself wading into. But as economic troubles and interpersonal problems among his employees threaten Básculas’s chances at winning a prestigious prize, the façade begins to slip, and he is forced to meddle in the lives of his “family” to protect his company’s reputation. Blanco takes pride in his business, maintaining the pristine image of a family enterprise.

The Good Boss stars Javier Bardem as Blanco, the titular boss of the Blancos Básculas scales factory.

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