Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
And he genuinely seems like a good guy.
He roams among his employees, cracking jokes and always available.
But warning signs abound.
We cant have anything disrupting the general mood of calm, happy productivity, can we?
Its a perfect role for Bardem, who has always exuded a kind of natural authority and calm.
Every line reading is measured without feeling rehearsed.
(Hes a great performer, but that wonderfully solid, anvil-shaped profile of his helps, too.
Plus, he gets to indulge his fondness for ridiculous wigs again.)
This director loves to undercut Bardems quiet sense of power.
Here, they initially present Blanco as a man fully centered, confident and cool in his movements.
But as the ground beneath him begins to slip, a kind of wide-eyed fretfulness seeps in.
Theres more going on here, however, than a gentle satire of the corporate ethos.
Blanco prides himself on the product he makes.
Hes devoted all his efforts to the idea of equilibrium.
Or rather, the appearance of equilibrium.
If it takes increasing duplicity, corruption, and even violence to achieve that equilibrium, so be it.
And thats part of the films genius.
Because the avuncular Blanco is quite charming, and we can empathize with some of his frustrations.
The guy protesting outside the factorydoesseem pretty crazy.
And the employee whos screwing up at workisin fact making it impossible for everybody else to do their jobs.
And hey, that gorgeous intern Blanco slept with totally seducedhim!
