The Company Men
3/4
Starring: Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Rosemarie DeWitt, Maria Bello, Craig T. Nelson, Kevin Costner
Rated R for Language and Brief Nudity
Anyone who has spent time looking for a job, especially in this economy, will be able to identify with the characters in this film. I spent my fair share of time waiting for one. Dressing up and going to interviews, thinking that I nailed it until I got a pre-written email saying that "unfortunately they were going in another direction" or something like that. I kept thinking, I have a college degree from a state university! What did someone else have that I didn't? I now have a job that I love, but that didn't stop me from having a sense of deja vu while watching this movie.
It would be an honest mistake to claim that John Wells's film, "The Company Men," is a drama about unemployment, when it is in fact satirical. Ordinarily that may make a person think that the film would be humorous, which is usually the case for satires. "The Company Men" is not a comedy, however. While there are few moments here and there of understated humor, this is a drama, and a pretty bleak one at that. Wells has an ax to grind, and with a little exaggeration he rips the whole corporate culture to shreds.
Bobby Walker (Affleck) is a successful executive at a shipbuilding company called GTX. He has a luxurious life with his wife Maggie (DeWitt) and two children. One day after a great game at the country club, he goes into work to find that he has been laid off (this happens so quickly that it's a wonder that Bobby doesn't feel more insulted than he actually is). Soon to follow are his co-workers Phil Woodward (Cooper) and Gene McClary (Jones). All of them are out-of-work and desperate, especially because they have families to feed and have to keep up with the lifestyle that the expected to be able to live for the rest of their lives.
Our window into this story is Bobby, and he's a character everyone can identify with. At first, he's confident that he'll only be unemployed for a short while. After all, he has an MBA and years of experience. Then reality sets in. His brother-in-law Jack (Costner) offers him a carpentry job until he gets back on his feet, but Bobby has become too proud and all but throws it in his face. Then desperation sets in and he comes back begging. He goes to interviews and despite assurances that the company likes him a lot and has the job in the bag, is shot down without so much as a personal phone call.
For the entire running time, I was thinking, "I've been there." It was eye-opening to see a movie that really gets it. While "Up in the Air" certainly had its pleasures (and, all things considered, is a better film), no movie I've seen has been so dead-on in its portrayal of a man looking for a job.
Much of the reason why the film works is that the performances are top notch. With a cast like this, that's to be expected. Ben Affleck is terrific; this is a low-key role, and one where he can shine. Few performers are more likable and more convincing as everymen, and that's what the role requires. The supporting roles are excellent. Chris Cooper plays a father who is desperate to find a job to support his family, but his age is working against him. Tommy Lee Jones is also in fine form as GTX's second in command, who is the voice of conscience to James Salinger (Nelson), the CEO with whom he built the company from the ground up. Nelson is very good as the CEO who has been so warped by his success and luxuries that making the bottom line has become all important. The second the economy shifts, he starts cutbacks and layoffs so he can keep his luxuries (although he claims its to answer to the stockholders).
John Wells is showing what the corporate culture has become. What started as a good business that allowed men and women to make enough money to support themselves and their families has become a cold and ruthless machine. It's become all about corporate jargon like "consolidating" this and "restructuring" that. No one understands what they're talking about except to the extent that they know when they are making money and losing money. Here, business talk and greed squash humanity and common sense. Balance sheets and suits have replaced honest work and looking out for your fellow man.
The film isn't flawless. For one thing, it's poorly paced. Some scenes seem to drag on for far too long, while others (including some important ones), are given the short shift. The ending in particular is troubled in this respect. It happens so quickly that it seems more like a deus ex machina than an honest and hopeful closure (which it certainly had the potential to be). Also limited is character development. While the cast certainly gives it their all, there's little that they can do with such limiting roles. Only Bobby, Gene and Salinger (despite most of his actions being off screen) gain our sympathy (or in Salinger's case, hatred). Phil, Maggie and Jack are given the short end of the stick. Phil is in many ways the film's most desperate and tragic character, but he's underdeveloped. More could have been done with him to make what happens to him have a bigger impact.
The Weinstein Company, despite their sometimes questionable business practices and handling of good films, knows a good film when they see it. They paid a mid-seven figure sum for this film at the Sundance Film Festival, but they did surprisingly little to promote this film. Maybe it's because that while they realized that it was a good film, its audience is limited. Movies like "Up in the Air" and "Margin Call," despite having relatively dry material, had acceptably large audiences to warrant wide releasing. "The Company Men" does not. This is a film for adults in the corporate work place. It's a talky film where not much happens. Unless you identify with these characters, you're going to be bored out of your mind. For those who know this world, it's 90 minutes well spent.
Starring: Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Rosemarie DeWitt, Maria Bello, Craig T. Nelson, Kevin Costner
Rated R for Language and Brief Nudity
Anyone who has spent time looking for a job, especially in this economy, will be able to identify with the characters in this film. I spent my fair share of time waiting for one. Dressing up and going to interviews, thinking that I nailed it until I got a pre-written email saying that "unfortunately they were going in another direction" or something like that. I kept thinking, I have a college degree from a state university! What did someone else have that I didn't? I now have a job that I love, but that didn't stop me from having a sense of deja vu while watching this movie.
It would be an honest mistake to claim that John Wells's film, "The Company Men," is a drama about unemployment, when it is in fact satirical. Ordinarily that may make a person think that the film would be humorous, which is usually the case for satires. "The Company Men" is not a comedy, however. While there are few moments here and there of understated humor, this is a drama, and a pretty bleak one at that. Wells has an ax to grind, and with a little exaggeration he rips the whole corporate culture to shreds.
Bobby Walker (Affleck) is a successful executive at a shipbuilding company called GTX. He has a luxurious life with his wife Maggie (DeWitt) and two children. One day after a great game at the country club, he goes into work to find that he has been laid off (this happens so quickly that it's a wonder that Bobby doesn't feel more insulted than he actually is). Soon to follow are his co-workers Phil Woodward (Cooper) and Gene McClary (Jones). All of them are out-of-work and desperate, especially because they have families to feed and have to keep up with the lifestyle that the expected to be able to live for the rest of their lives.
Our window into this story is Bobby, and he's a character everyone can identify with. At first, he's confident that he'll only be unemployed for a short while. After all, he has an MBA and years of experience. Then reality sets in. His brother-in-law Jack (Costner) offers him a carpentry job until he gets back on his feet, but Bobby has become too proud and all but throws it in his face. Then desperation sets in and he comes back begging. He goes to interviews and despite assurances that the company likes him a lot and has the job in the bag, is shot down without so much as a personal phone call.
For the entire running time, I was thinking, "I've been there." It was eye-opening to see a movie that really gets it. While "Up in the Air" certainly had its pleasures (and, all things considered, is a better film), no movie I've seen has been so dead-on in its portrayal of a man looking for a job.
Much of the reason why the film works is that the performances are top notch. With a cast like this, that's to be expected. Ben Affleck is terrific; this is a low-key role, and one where he can shine. Few performers are more likable and more convincing as everymen, and that's what the role requires. The supporting roles are excellent. Chris Cooper plays a father who is desperate to find a job to support his family, but his age is working against him. Tommy Lee Jones is also in fine form as GTX's second in command, who is the voice of conscience to James Salinger (Nelson), the CEO with whom he built the company from the ground up. Nelson is very good as the CEO who has been so warped by his success and luxuries that making the bottom line has become all important. The second the economy shifts, he starts cutbacks and layoffs so he can keep his luxuries (although he claims its to answer to the stockholders).
John Wells is showing what the corporate culture has become. What started as a good business that allowed men and women to make enough money to support themselves and their families has become a cold and ruthless machine. It's become all about corporate jargon like "consolidating" this and "restructuring" that. No one understands what they're talking about except to the extent that they know when they are making money and losing money. Here, business talk and greed squash humanity and common sense. Balance sheets and suits have replaced honest work and looking out for your fellow man.
The film isn't flawless. For one thing, it's poorly paced. Some scenes seem to drag on for far too long, while others (including some important ones), are given the short shift. The ending in particular is troubled in this respect. It happens so quickly that it seems more like a deus ex machina than an honest and hopeful closure (which it certainly had the potential to be). Also limited is character development. While the cast certainly gives it their all, there's little that they can do with such limiting roles. Only Bobby, Gene and Salinger (despite most of his actions being off screen) gain our sympathy (or in Salinger's case, hatred). Phil, Maggie and Jack are given the short end of the stick. Phil is in many ways the film's most desperate and tragic character, but he's underdeveloped. More could have been done with him to make what happens to him have a bigger impact.
The Weinstein Company, despite their sometimes questionable business practices and handling of good films, knows a good film when they see it. They paid a mid-seven figure sum for this film at the Sundance Film Festival, but they did surprisingly little to promote this film. Maybe it's because that while they realized that it was a good film, its audience is limited. Movies like "Up in the Air" and "Margin Call," despite having relatively dry material, had acceptably large audiences to warrant wide releasing. "The Company Men" does not. This is a film for adults in the corporate work place. It's a talky film where not much happens. Unless you identify with these characters, you're going to be bored out of your mind. For those who know this world, it's 90 minutes well spent.
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