This film seems to be getting mixed reviews at best. It wasn't even released nationwide, or at least not at a theater near me, and very little promotion was given to it. I think that's a shame because it's an enjoyable film that actually explores not just the recent economy and downsizing in Corporate America but the North American situation (obsession with property, possessions and passing pleasures rather than true happiness). That said, I understand that films involving the recent economy haven't done well and I can see why many people wouldn't be eager to get out only to sit in a theater and watch what can be seen as a very depressing story that has a lot of truth to it.
Outside of that fact I still say this is a good film if not entirely great. Ben Affleck is well cast and likable as a man who has it all until his company is hurt by the economy and he finds himself included in the list of recent layoffs, the last thing he expected given his position at the company. He is eager to find a new job and believes he'll have no problem given his credentials but he soon finds the only positions he can attain are those that he considers beneath him. Soon his termination package runs out and he and his wife (excellently played by Rosemarie Dewitt) have to face some realities about their nice house and many possessions including a beautiful sports car. Dewitt and Affleck do a great job of playing a couple under a lot of stress who still clearly love each other.
The film isn't as depressing as it sounds based on that synopsis, from there Ben Affleck's character slowly realizes that when all else fades family remains constant and his parents and brother in law (Kevin Costner) help him make it through to the other side.
While this goes on Tommy Lee Jones plays a higher business executive at the same company who is very upset with the way the company is being run. When he is eventually let go despite suggestions that could help the company he finds himself dissatisfied with his life and looking to find new meaning. Craig T. Nelson plays the head of the company who causes more issues by taking jobs out of the industrial end of the company to keep investors happy. Chris Cooper does an excellent job playing a man in the same position as Affleck only with much less fortunate results when he doesn't have the same support group (truly the most tragic aspect of the film).
Economy films are a lot like films about the Iraq war, not many want to hear anymore about these issues with the media already bombarding us. However, I would say this isn't so much an economy film as it is a film about a very specific aspect of the current human condition that just happens to use the recent economy issues as a starting point (much like how The Hurt Locker wasn't specifically about Iraq).
To me the film wasn't as depressing as others are painting it to be because the message wasn't about how bad things can get, it was about how good we can make things. Everything is a choice, if we stop becoming obsessed with things we have no control over in hopes of stability, if we stop building things up and acting as if they can never fall down, if we accept that nothing is permanent other than the happiness we give ourselves then we might move past all this and be in a better place, a place that can't be taken away from us.
The ending keeps it from being a truly great film, leaving things wrapped up almost too neatly too suddenly despite attempting to be openended and leaving Affleck's character with a mountain to climb. Still, if you liked last year's Up In The Air you'll enjoy this and if your interested in how business's wind up in trouble or if you like films that show the strength of family then this may be for you, give it a try. I hope this film finds a larger audience on Blu-Ray and DVD, I will certainly be adding it to my collection for repeat viewings.
* I hope this release has a director's commentary. The Company Men
This is a film that oozes with realism and timeliness. The GTX corporation, headed by an overpaid, callous CEO (Craig T. Nelson)--who cares only about the stockholders, a new corporate headquarters, and his salary and stock options--cuts divisions and lays off thousands of workers--some of whom have been with him and the firm for decades. It's not that they aren't hardworking and dedicated, it's just "business."
One of the men who is laid off is in his thirties (Ben Affleck); the other is twenty years older (Chris Cooper). Another (Tommy Lee Jones) roomed in college with the CEO and helped him build the company from the ground up, concentrating on shipbuilding in the Boston area. All three men live lavishly, with fancy houses, furnishings, and cars.
Affleck is great as the proud, bitter, and then humbled white-collar executive, who has to sell his million-dollar home (in the depressed housing market) and Porsche, and then move in with his parents and work for his brother-in-law (played nicely by Kevin Costner) constructing someone else's mega-house. Cooper is also good--downtrodden and desperate, forced to dye his hair, and grovel at job interviews and with associates. And Jones is wonderful--a man with a conscience in the business world, who cares about the people who work at GTX. He also starts to reevaluate his life, both professionally and personally, in middle age.
The film--written and directed by John Wells--hits home. Most of us know people like the ones we see in The Company Men. They can be vain, pushy, and full of themselves; but when things don't go their way, they can be depressed and helpless. Yes, people need to make a living, but they also need to think about what's really important--family, friends, and self-fulfillment. This is a film that makes you think about these things.
"The Company Men" is a sober telling of life within a modern company. Men come to be defined by their jobs and when the job is taken away from them, they are lost. Their world as they understand it simply collapses.
At a high level, "The Company Men" covers the lives of several executives of the ship building division of GTX Corporation, an American conglomerate. Profitability and growth seems to be eluding the division and the only response of management is downsizing and, when this fails, more downsizing. Each man is thrown into a whirlpool. Their lives of debt and over-consumption come to a screeching halt. If there is one message from this film it is that too many people assume that things won't change. Too little attention is paid to saving for a rainy day. Consumption is king.
There are excellent performances by Tommy Lee Jones and Ben Affleck. Both end up being "let go" and both struggle with the consequences. However, eventually, reality must be faced. This is not an easy row to hoe. In the case of Ben Affleck's character, his life style is forced to undergo big changes. His house is sold, his family moves back to living with his parents, his wife gets a part time job and he takes a job of manual labour from his brother in law.
Without spoiling the plot, there is a somewhat happier ending. However, in the meantime, the film gives an excellent portrayal of so much of modern corporate life. It's a dog eat dog world out there. Just remember that change can be forced on anyone.'
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