But en route to the harshest, most unremittingly bleak film of his career, Solondz unleashes some of his sharpest commentary on human mortality and regret. (timeout.com)
In order to grind his axes, he has abandoned his history as the director of aggressively bleak films like 21 Grams and Biutiful and made Birdman, a comedy of sorts. (alphaprimitive.com)
Is there a precedent for such a resolutely bleak film as Biutiful to be considered a frontrunner? (slantmagazine.com)