The Company Men
After a major shipbuilding company downsizes its operations dramatically a group of company men (Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, and Tommy Lee Jones) are left to pick up the pieces of what they poured their life’s energy and work into. In particular the film follows Bobby Walker (Affleck), a high end salesman for the company and his struggle to find work, a challenge that leads him to asking for work for work from his brother-in law (Kevin Costner), but is that the right answer? And, who will survive in the new corporate climate?
Maybe it’s just my cynical nature, or maybe it’s that the subject matter is too soon, but ultimately this film left me with a feeling like “yeah so?†There’s nothing here that you can’t get just by turning on the TV or knocking on the front door to your next-door neighbor. If we examine film as a reflection of our society, there’s no mystery as to what this film is saying, the corporate climate is a brutal and sometimes nasty place to be, but who in America today doesn’t already know that? While the actors all play their part just fine, the real crux of the matter is that by the end of the film, I don’t really care anymore or less about their characters or storylines, more to the point, I’m not so sure we even see a compelling story arc with any of them. Maybe this will play differently for audiences in 20 years when our economic climate is different, but for now, pass. The Company Men is rated R.