Reel Review: The Company Men is an American drama film written and directed by John Wells. It premiered at the 26th Sundance Film Festival last January 22, 2010 and had a one-week run in December 10, 2010 to be eligible for the year’s Academy Awards. The film was commercially released in the United States and Canada on January 21, 2011. the film was rated R for language and brief nudity.
What’s Inside: The story centers on a year in the life of three men trying to survive a round of corporate downsizing at a major company – and how that affects them, their families, and their communities. Ben Affleck plays a white-collar corporate employee who, after losing his six-figure salary, is offered a job installing drywall from his blue-collar working brother-in-law, played by Kevin Costner.
Wrapping It Up: In the film, we see just how losing their jobs affects their families, their psyche, and the community at large. It’s as terrifyingly real and believable. The pitch-perfect screenplay captures the utter bleakness of our current economic recession and how it’s effecting the people who can’t afford a golden umbrella. It shows a what one must do to survive and overcome one’s overbearing pride. It’s a heartbreaking truth about the effects of the recent recession. It’s a film of staggering importance. The three leading men (Affleck, Jones, and Cooper) all turn out splendid performances. Their characters are deep and real and all of them are able to bring what is ostensibly an internal turmoil to the forefront of the film’s exterior. The film hits every beat with truth. The interwoven stories, the consequences and emotions and thematic explorations are all so rich that when these characters feel, you feel. And there’s a lot to be felt.
The Company Men is, above all, an important addition to the current economic/sociological conversation. I’ve discussed my feelings about how this recession (and my generation’s response to it) is effecting us in very tragic ways. It’s wonderful to see John Wells tackle this issue and comment on it excellently.