--- title: "The Good Boss" year: 2021 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-good-boss" fi1m_score: 67 critics_score: 64 critics_reviews: 17 published: "2026-09-18T08:48:26.265913+00:00" updated: "2026-09-18T08:48:39.323980+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Good Boss (2021) Directed by Fernando León de Aranoa · 2h 00m · Comedy, Drama **Fi1m score: 67** · Critics 64 from 17 reviews *In a sentence:* Javier Bardem in a cardigan, ruining lives with a shrug and a hand on the shoulder > Fernando León de Aranoa gives Javier Bardem a scales factory, a cardigan and a business award to chase, and Bardem does the rest. The satire around him is broad and twenty minutes too long, but he is worth the evening. ## Synopsis In a provincial Spanish town, Julio Blanco (Javier Bardem) runs Básculas Blanco, the industrial scales factory his father founded, and calls his workforce his family. A committee judging a regional award for business excellence is due to visit in a week, and Blanco wants the trophy for the hallway. Before then he has tidying to do. José (Óscar de la Fuente), sacked from the accounts department, pitches camp opposite the gates with his children and a megaphone. Miralles (Manolo Solo), the production manager and Blanco’s oldest friend, suspects his wife is unfaithful and has stopped being able to count, so shipments go out wrong. Liliana (Almudena Amor), a new marketing intern and the daughter of a family friend, catches the boss’s eye. His wife Adela (Sonia Almarcha) has seen this before. ## Review Fernando León de Aranoa has written and directed a comedy about a man who makes scales for a living and cannot stop talking about balance. Julio Blanco (Javier Bardem) inherited Básculas Blanco from his father, addresses his workers as family, and wants a regional award for business excellence to join the others on his hallway wall. The judges arrive in a week. *The Good Boss* is a handsome, well-acted satire that has one thing to say and says it several times, and Bardem makes the repetition easy to sit through. The first scene tells you what the film is up to. Blanco stands before his staff and gives a speech about fairness, about the scale that must be kept level, while Pau Esteve Birba frames him under the company logo in clean, even morning light. Everything in the film is pale grey and cream and a little too tidy: the factory floor, the trophy hallway, Blanco’s kitchen. It is the look of a place that has been prepared for inspection, which is exactly what it is, and Birba holds it for two hours without ever letting the joke get loud. Bardem has grey hair, a soft middle, a wardrobe of jumpers and a hand that is always finding its way to somebody’s shoulder. He speaks quietly and reasonably. Every cruelty arrives dressed as help, and every favour has a price he does not mention. The performance works because he never winks at us. Blanco believes he is a good man, and Bardem plays the belief and lets us supply the rest. We laughed at him for the first half hour, then noticed the laugh drying up, because we had all worked for him at some point and had not enjoyed it. The problems he needs to clear before the committee arrives are the film’s plot, and they are well cast. José (Óscar de la Fuente) camps opposite the gates with his children and a megaphone; Blanco refers to him as an issue. Miralles (Manolo Solo), the production manager and oldest friend, is red-eyed and unable to hide anything, the exact opposite of his boss, and Solo is the best thing in the film after Bardem. Almudena Amor plays the intern Liliana with a level gaze that makes clear she is not the innocent Blanco has cast her as. Celso Bugallo is Fortuna, the old security guard whose son is in trouble, and Sonia Almarcha, as Blanco’s wife Adela, does a great deal with a look across a dinner table. What does not work is the metaphor, which is everywhere. Scales are in the logo, on the walls, in the dialogue and in the speeches, and León de Aranoa’s script says the word balance so often that we began to count. The jokes are broad: the megaphone, the wrong invoices, the boss in a bar he should not be in. Vanessa Marimbert cuts at an even, unhurried pace that suits Blanco’s manner but not a comedy, and at 120 minutes there is a stretch in the middle where the subplots take turns and none of them moves. Zeltia Montes’s score is light and plucked and keeps nudging us to find things funny when Bardem has already done the work. León de Aranoa and Bardem made *Mondays in the Sun* (2002) together, with Bardem as a shipyard worker on the wrong side of the gates. That film was angrier and sadder than this one. *The Good Boss* looks at the same country from the manager’s office, and it is a more comfortable film for it, which is an odd thing for a satire to be. The second half takes a turn we will not describe. What we can say is that the final scene is the best in the film and the only one that leaves a mark. See it for Bardem, and take someone who has had a boss. It works at home, where the tidiness of the images looks more like a decision and less like a budget. Anyone who has worked for a man like Blanco will recognise the hand on the shoulder. Anyone who has been that man will not recognise anything at all. *Fi1m score 67, published 18 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics enjoy The Good Boss, and nearly all of them agree on why: Javier Bardem. Almost every review singles out his performance as the provincial factory owner who mistakes himself for a benevolent patriarch, and the praise clusters on how he moves from charm to ruthlessness without appearing to change gear. The satire on corporate corruption and image management is found amusing, slick and easy to sit through. The reservations are about everything around him. Several reviews call the satire obvious, the metaphors overworked and the running time too long, and a few say the film has little to offer once the star is set aside. The spread is narrow: eight reviews are positive, nine mixed, none negative. Collider is the outlier, rating it well above the rest, while The Times dissents the other way, finding the boss too bland to matter. ### Reviews we read (17) - **Sight and Sound** (80/100, inferred): Bardem excels as the slick but amoral factory boss whose unethical practices unravel amid a bid for a business award. The film is praised as a character-driven satire on hypocrisy, corruption and image management in contemporary Spain. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/good-boss-perfectly-weighted-comedy) - **Vulture**, David Edelstein (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's allegory of corporate equilibrium maintained through duplicity and Bardem's measured, authoritative performance as the charming yet ruthless boss. It sneaks up as a sharp satire on an entire civilization's complicity. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/review-the-good-boss-el-buen-patron-with-javier-bardem.html) - **Slant Magazine**, Pat Brown (70/100, inferred): Bardem creates a complex portrait of a randy, imperious CEO in this droll satire; the film suggests there may not be much daylight between a good boss and a true villain. The obviousness of the premise works because the absurdity is the point. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-good-boss-review-javier-bardem/) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (70/100, inferred): The star delivers a masterclass in reptilian charm as the unscrupulous head of a provincial firm, but Fernando León de Aranoa’s tragicomedy can feel heavy-handed. An impressively slick and slimy performance from Javier Bardem is the standout selling point for this serviceable if workaday satire on corporate corruption. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jul/17/the-good-boss-review-javier-bardem-bosses-it-in-unsubtle-spanish-satire) - **Variety**, Guy Lodge (65/100, inferred): The critic finds the corporate satire amusing but too long, languidly paced and lacking sharpness, with Bardem's magnetic, riveting performance as the blandly evil boss providing the main reason to watch. [Read](https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/the-good-boss-review-1235071329/) - **Little White Lies**, David Jenkins (4/3/2): Bardem delivers a committed lead performance in this light workplace comedy about a seemingly benevolent scales factory owner whose abuses of power catch up with him. The film is seen as undemanding and ultimately unmemorable fluff. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-good-boss) - **Los Angeles Times**, Geoff Berkshire (60/100, inferred): Bardem's mischievous turn anchors the slick social satire about a not-so-good boss obsessed with awards, but the film offers little substance beyond its star and obvious metaphors. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-08-27/good-boss-review-javier-bardem) - **Radio Times**, Kevin Harley (3/5): Bardem personifies corporate corruption as the patrician boss of an industrial scales firm whose fling with an intern threatens his pursuit of a business excellence award. The satire is slight, with overworked metaphors and uneven pacing, but Bardem nails the character's amorality. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-u3gixd/the-good-boss/) - **Screen Daily** (60/100, inferred): Bardem dominates this slick comic morality tale about a provincial Spanish factory owner whose dysfunctional 'family' business unravels during a bid for an excellence award. The film is entertaining but feels comfortable and déjà vu, with a strong final scene hinting at greater depth. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/the-good-boss-san-sebastian-review/5163443.article) - **IndieWire**, Christian Blauvelt (50/100, inferred): A towering performance from Bardem anchors the film, which otherwise lacks a strong point of view. The satire on capitalism and the boss's smarmy charm are highlighted but not fully developed. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-good-boss-review-javier-bardem-1234754898/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Jordan Mintzer (50/100, inferred): The critic finds it slickly entertaining but notes that the jokes tend to be too broad and the themes too tritely handled. Bardem delivers a strong turn in this dark workplace dramedy about a factory boss maintaining power through manipulation. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-good-boss-el-buen-patron-san-sebastian-2021-1235017582/) - **The New York Times**, Ben Kenigsberg (50/100, inferred): Bardem delivers prime material in a dark comedy about a manipulative boss using underhanded tactics for a business award, but the satire is deemed facile and not especially incisive. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/25/movies/the-good-boss-review-company-man.html) - **The Times**, Kevin Maher (★★★☆☆): There are seeds of greatness in this Spanish workplace satire, but the boss character is too bland to matter and dilutes the impact. The result is a perfectly acceptable wry-smile movie, nothing more. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/the-good-boss-review-javier-bardem-crumbles-in-a-so-so-spanish-satire-lbwfhgx9h) - **Collider**, Chase Hutchinson (A-): The critic praises the film as a sly satire showcasing Javier Bardem's chilling performance as a manipulative, cruel factory owner who maintains a facade of benevolence. They single out Bardem's ability to shift from charming to ruthless as the standout element that elevates the entire movie. [Read](https://collider.com/the-good-boss-review-javier-bardem/) - **Deadline**, Stephanie Bunbury (70/100, inferred): The critic praises Bardem's riveting performance as the charming but manipulative factory owner who believes himself a benevolent patriarch. The film is highlighted for its dark comedy built on dramatic irony and the boss's self-delusion. [Read](https://deadline.com/2021/09/the-good-boss-review-javier-bardem-san-sebastian-film-festival-1234842072/) - **Eye for Film**, Amber Wilkinson (70/100, inferred): The critic finds Javier Bardem's central performance elevates the satire above the ordinary, balancing charm with ruthlessness. The film blends mainstream situational comedy with small-town satire but could have embraced its darker elements more fully. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-good-boss-2021-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) - **The Wrap** (70/100, inferred): The review finds the dark comedy effective thanks to Bardem's mesmerizing, underplayed turn as the self-satisfied boss, though it notes the script feels unsubtle and the film runs too long. Bardem's familiar, unsettling portrayal of everyday authority is singled out as the film's main strength. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/the-good-boss-film-review-javier-bardems/) ## Details - **Director:** Fernando León de Aranoa - **Director:** Fernando León de Aranoa - **Screenplay:** Fernando León de Aranoa - **Cinematography:** Pau Esteve Birba - **Editor:** Vanessa Marimbert - **Music:** Zeltia Montes - **Producer:** Jaume Roures, Fernando León de Aranoa - **Cast:** Javier Bardem as Julio Blanco; Manolo Solo as Miralles; Almudena Amor as Liliana; Óscar de la Fuente as José; Sonia Almarcha as Adela; Fernando Albizu as Román; María de Nati as Ángela; Tarik Rmili as Khaled - **Runtime:** 2h 00m - **Release (the US):** 26 August 2022 - **Genres:** Comedy, Drama - **Box office:** $365,000 - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aslAli6uG8I ## Where to watch in the US - Tubi: free, hd - Amazon Prime Video: add-on - Amazon Prime Video: rent $4.99, hd - Apple TV: rent $4.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $12.99, sd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-18.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, DE, DK, EC, EE, FI, FR, GB, HK, IE, IN, IT, KR, LT, MX, NL, NO, PA, PE, PT, SE, SG, UA, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - European Film Award for Best Comedy 2022: European Film Award for Best Comedy (won) - Goya Award for Best Film 2022: Goya Award for Best Film (won) - International Submission to the Academy Awards 2022: International Submission to the Academy Awards (nominated) - Premio Feroz for Best Comedy 2022: Premio Feroz for Best Comedy (won) - Golden Shell 2021: Golden Shell (nominated) - Medal of the Circle of Cinematographic Writers for the best film 2021: Medal of the Circle of Cinematographic Writers for the best film (nominated) ## If you liked this - *Mondays in the Sun* (2002): León de Aranoa and Bardem on the other side of the factory gates, angrier and sadder - *The Square* (2017): A Stockholm gallery director manages his image and loses the plot; the dinner scene is unforgettable - *Toni Erdmann* (2016), Fi1m 86: A German consultant, her father, and the corporate manners the film picks apart at length — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/toni-erdmann.md) - *The Firemen's Ball* (1967): A small Czech town’s committee tries to run one evening and cannot; still very funny - *Two Days, One Night* (2014), Fi1m 88: Marion Cotillard asks her colleagues to save her job, one doorstep at a time — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/two-days-one-night.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-good-boss