The Company Men
Directed by: John Wells
Starring: Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Maria Bello
Rated: R for language and brief nudity
Films that are severely dated seemingly never rise beyond the year it’s released. For instance, John Well’s recent film The Company Men will never last when (or if) the economy turns around and businesses start to flourish. Until then, the film is a truly inspiring work, which takes a serious-yet-uplifting look at overcoming a job loss. The antithesis of the glamorous corporate realm displayed in the TV show Mad Men, this story follows the untimely loss of employment of the central characters of the film and how they and their families must deal with that. While Tommy Lee Jones’ character is vague and unlikeable and the brilliant Chris Cooper is just plain cliché, it is the character of the younger Ben Affleck, who goes from a six figure income to being unemployed for half a year, that connects with the audience. The honesty of the transformation makes Affleck’s character so interesting; his pride is beaten out of him with every minute of unemployment but, thanks often to his wise and loving wife (Mad Men’s own Rosemaire Dewitt), he learns more about true worth and integrity than he ever did from his job. It’s a painful transition, but one that I, along with others whom have been or currently are unemployed can identify with. The only problem with the film (minus the language and one nudie shot) is the missing of a central theme; what is learned is either lost or never fully developed. Despite it’s silence, The Company Men is a powerful film but perhaps only to those who can relate to it’s character’s flaws and situation.
Rated: R for language and brief nudity
Films that are severely dated seemingly never rise beyond the year it’s released. For instance, John Well’s recent film The Company Men will never last when (or if) the economy turns around and businesses start to flourish. Until then, the film is a truly inspiring work, which takes a serious-yet-uplifting look at overcoming a job loss. The antithesis of the glamorous corporate realm displayed in the TV show Mad Men, this story follows the untimely loss of employment of the central characters of the film and how they and their families must deal with that. While Tommy Lee Jones’ character is vague and unlikeable and the brilliant Chris Cooper is just plain cliché, it is the character of the younger Ben Affleck, who goes from a six figure income to being unemployed for half a year, that connects with the audience. The honesty of the transformation makes Affleck’s character so interesting; his pride is beaten out of him with every minute of unemployment but, thanks often to his wise and loving wife (Mad Men’s own Rosemaire Dewitt), he learns more about true worth and integrity than he ever did from his job. It’s a painful transition, but one that I, along with others whom have been or currently are unemployed can identify with. The only problem with the film (minus the language and one nudie shot) is the missing of a central theme; what is learned is either lost or never fully developed. Despite it’s silence, The Company Men is a powerful film but perhaps only to those who can relate to it’s character’s flaws and situation.
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