Title: The Company Men Directed By: John Wells Starring: Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris

Cooper, Maria Bello, Rosemarie DeWitt, Kevin Costner, Craig T. Nelson, Eamonn Walker Whether its happened to you or someone you know, job loss is a personal matter for the large majority and that makes it a testy topic to manage in a film. If it isnt represented accurately it could be insulting, then again if its dealt with too precisely, it could be too much for some to handle, however, The Company Men approaches the issue quite tactfully. Not only does it deliver a respectable presentation of the hardship, but still manages to maintain a light enough tone making the film a viable source of entertainment rather than just a pity party. In fact, The Company Men might also be a fantastic source for those in need of a little hope. It doesnt matter how high you are on the food chain; at GTX, Global Transportation Systems, everyone is on the chopping block during a recession. One of the first to feel the effects of corporate downsizing is Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck), a family man who enjoys cruising around town in his Porsche and improving his golf game. Bobby is certainly angry when he gets the bad news, but pulls himself together quickly and heads into the world of unemployment sure hell only be there for a short while. Days turn into weeks and weeks into months leaving Bobby no choice, but to go to work for his brotherin-law (Kevin Costner) building houses. Meanwhile, back at GTX, longtime employee Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) is paranoid his day will come, too. Sure enough, he becomes a victim of a second round of cuts as does the companys second in command, Gene McClary (Tommy Lee Jones). All three men suffer the same fate, but their roads to redemption are wildly different. Nowadays, when you make a movie about people losing jobs, its inherently engaging and writer-director John Wells knows it. However, he certainly doesnt rely on it. Wells brings us three rather typical characters the family man who loses everything, the big boss man whos taken down for fighting for whats right and the dedicated, but outdated employee who cant compete with younger candidates but spices them up with a great deal of depth and then really seals the deal with excellent casting. Affleck is the main man and the perfect person to carry the audience through the film. Hes easily the most relatable of the bunch and gives off such a degree of warmth, its impossible not to sympathize with his situation. The one element that is a bit off in his world is his wife, Maggie (Rosemarie DeWitt). It isnt clear whether this is due to DeWitts performance or odd directing by Wells, but her character feels very unnatural. When Bobby comes home and breaks the news, Maggie isnt the least bit concerned. In fact, shes never really concerned until Bobby throws a fit about losing his country club membership. Shes just busy cutting costs throughout the family as if it were an everyday activity. Bobbys relationship with his brother-in-law, Jack, on the other hand, is exactly the

opposite. Affleck and Costner have a fantastic chemistry that makes their moments work when theyre butting heads and during more sympathetic times, but still maintain enough of their characters original sentiments to make the transition seamless. However, the moments between Jones and Craig T. Nelson who plays James Salinger, the GTX CEO and Genes good friend, is quite the opposite. James is supposed to be a heartless, money hungry boss, but Nelson takes things a bit too far and turns not caring about anything but himself, into a wooden and uninteresting personality. Jones has a similar problem when sharing the screen with Maria Bello who plays another GTX employee, Sally Wilcox, with whom Gene is having an affair, but this time around, its mainly due to lack of character development. Sally is actually a pretty colorful character. Shes the woman in charge when it comes to adding names to the list when its time to let employees go. Between Sallys situation and Bellos ability, the character feels like a missed opportunity on Wells part. More Bello and less Dewitt might have been the way to go. However, Jones character wins big in another relationship, but the success of this friendship is largely due to Cooper. Coopers character takes on more of a supporting position to Gene and Bobby, but he certainly has the strongest impact. Cooper is one of those guys who doesnt need a single line of dialogue to get his point across. On top of that, Phil really is one of the most emotionally impactful characters of the film. While theres always a light at the end of the tunnel for Gene and Bobby, Gene already being very wealthy and Bobby still young and highly employable, Phil is a lost cause and its absolutely heartbreaking. As good as some of the performances and story elements are, its hard to ignore how predictable the film is. Portraying job loss in the film is a double-edged sword; its timely and emotional, but we know whats going to happen most of the time. There are a few surprises in there that pack quite a punch, but youll get a sense of what the resolution will be early on. Then again, predictability is far better than a plain old dull story and that The Company Men is not. Minus the aforementioned issues and some awkward shot selection, The Company Men is a passionate film and wholly deserving of your time. The mix of a concerning reality with a sense of hope is the perfect way to present such a touchy topic thats hitting home for one too many people today. Technical: BStory: BActing: B+ Overall: B By Perri Nemiroff

Men (and women, I assume) often develop a direct relationship between their job and their self-worth. The better job we have, the more useful and confident we feel. Its only natural, then, that when it comes to our work, we like to think were special and invaluable, that no matter how tough the going gets, our bosses will see how many years weve dedicated to our jobs and be fully aware of what we do, making it impossible to let us go. Thats what we assume and hope. But as thousands of men and women have learned over the past few years, the reality of it is quite different. One character in The Company Men says, I lose my job and the world keeps going. Yes, because when our world stops, we automatically assume everyone elses does, or at least should. But its a painful truth when you learn you may not be so special and that youre expendable. Its painful to learn, yes, but its the truth. This is something the characters of The Company Men must face. When the film opens, it is September 2008, and the DOW has plummeted 800 points. Bobby (Ben Affleck), Gene (Tommy Lee Jones) and Phil (Chris Cooper), men of various ranks and positions at Global Transportation Systems (GTX), suddenly face an uncertain future. Each of them lives in luxurious suburban homes outside of Boston with two-car garages, swimming pools, antique furniture, video game systems and widescreen televisions. They drive cars worth what most men would hope to make in a year. Director John Wells shows us multiple shots of these material possessions early on to foreshadow such things are about to succumb to the economic crisis. Wells methods are not as blatant as they are blunt. These men are about to lose what theyve worked to obtain and will learn security isnt a given. Theyre not bad men, but perhaps theyve come to expect too much. Bobby is the first to be let go. The Human Resources representative (Maria Bello) tells him that he (and 5,000 other employees) will receive three months severance plus training and guidance to find other employment. The scenes where Bobby must endure small work spaces and listen to a personnel agent deliver her routine speech about fear, determination, success and waking up your inner tiger are sad and pathetic, but, sadly, probably accurate. Up until now, Bobby has considered himself special, but hes suddenly faced with the idea hes just like everybody else, and it shakes him up. His wife, Maggie (warmly played by Rosemarie Dewitt), is more realistic than her husband and immediately opts to stop eating out, cancel skiing at Christmas and even start taking shifts at the hospital as a nurse. Bobby hasnt accepted this is how it is and still wants to pay dues to the country club. His ego is so fragile he out rightly dismisses his brother-in-laws (Kevin Costner) offer for construction work. Gene has more anger because his division at GTX was shut down without his authority. His boss and longtime friend, James (Craig T. Nelson), went behind his back and knew he had to do whatever it took, including downsizing, to keep his company afloat. Gene and James more or less fit into the archetypal roles of moral voice and evil corporate honcho, and while it may seem like theres not a lot to their characters, I believed there are men out there like them and that Jones and Nelsons performances werent exaggerated. The Company Men isnt so much an introspective film as it is a broad representation

of corporate culture during an economic crisis. It relays the headlines weve seen on the news but doesnt go into stark detail. For this reason, there arent a whole lot of surprises in the film and its fairly clear how were supposed to feel at any given moment. With that said, it does a good job of putting the grim reality of a recession into effective narrative form. If anything, it serves as a caveat for over-consumption, greed and how life is prone to curve balls. It feels traditional on many levels and each character is rigidly defined. Instead of really probing their situations, it opts for manipulative emotional moments, including an unnecessary suicide. Still, the genuine performances allow us to sympathize with the characters, and although the film doesnt go as far as its subject could take it, its well directed and thoughtful. You obviously dont need a feature film to tell you whats happening with the economy, but The Company Men makes for an entertaining drama and humbling parable. It ends on what is perhaps an artificially upbeat note, but in times like these, and given what the characters (and thousands of real-life individuals) are going through, feeling upbeat, even if artificially driven, is sometimes what we need. This is a story of what many workers in the U.S. are enduring during the present economic crisis. Many companies are cutting jobs by the thousands to placate their shareholders by reducing the company's employee overhead and hopefully driving up their stock price. Actually the movie shows the hardships and This is a story of what many workers in the U.S. are enduring during the present economic crisis. Many companies are cutting jobs by the thousands to placate their shareholders by reducing the company's employee overhead and hopefully driving up their stock price. Actually the movie shows the hardships and what can happen to anyone, including people in management, when they no longer have a job. It first affects them internally, then their families, and finally the communities they live in. Out of work people first resist changing their lifestyles, then they go into denial, and finally acceptance of the hand they have been dealt. Ben Affleck's outstanding performance of enduring disappointment of not finding a job and worry for not providing for his family proved this point. The moral of the story is that we should not take our jobs for granted.It first affects them internally, then their families, and finally the communities they live in. Out of work people first resist changing their lifestyles, then they go into denial, and finally acceptance of the hand they have been dealt. Ben Affleck's outstanding performance of enduring disappointment of not finding a job and worry for not providing for his family proved this point. The moral of the story is that we should not take our jobs for granted.