The Company Men (2010)

Directed (and written) by John Wells, The Weinstein Company, 2010. Starring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Maria Bello, Craig T. Nelson, Chris Cooper and Kevin Costner.

Genre: Drama

Question: How many of you are worried about your job or not making enough money to support you and your family? I bet it is more than a few of you. Well, I just finished watching The Company Men and if you are one of those few, who have been downsized, fired, let go, etc...don't watch this movie. You will just get more depressed.

I know that is not my normal glowing recommendation for a movie. However, I actually liked the film and thought it was done very well - perhaps too well because it was so real. Bottom line this movie is about how the greed of some can crush the ones below them, and to hell with the consequences. The Company Men shows the ripple (and sometimes tsunami) effect when layoffs happen at a company. Sound familiar? Since 2008 everyone has been touched in one form or another with the economy so this movie just brought back everything we first feared, what we have lived through and are currently enduring.

When I started this movie today I wasn't in the best of moods and now I am worse because of it. I may have mentioned that I am easily affected by movies and this one got me. One of my many fears is not making enough money to pay my bills and with the recent few years my current job of interior design hasn't fared too well. This then reminded me of all my attempts at trying to create a successful career over a 20 year period and how it was pretty much shot down when the world economy tanked - all my worries, nightmares and concerns came flooding back.

I honestly don't want to go into too much detail about the film because we all know the story. However, I will say that Tommy Lee Jones, Ben Affleck and Chris Cooper embodied what the corporate man has gone through over the past few years. They all did a fantastic job at relaying the sense of discombobulation of the business worker and the fear that comes with it when you lose your job - a job that they have had for more than 12, 20, or 30+ years.

Losing their job not only affects them, the employee, but their family and their loved ones around them. The Company Men follows several men who lose their job and, for the life of me, I couldn't understand why when the CEO kept making money hand-over-fist. It infuriated me to see the upper echelon's greed for themselves and stockholders. I don't claim to know anything about corporate business or finance - trust me - but it was made very clear in this movie that too few actually make decent money "working" today while the rest of us get handed our pink slips when the company's stock drops a few points.

Again, I know this isn't one of my typical reviews, but I hope it doesn't discourage anyone from seeing this movie. The Company Men was well written, very well acted and there was a glimmer of hope that there are some decent employers out there. Ones that actually want to build something and help create jobs so people can get back to work and support their families. I suppose that is the American dream now.

The Company Men

My favorite thing: Tommy Lee Jones - without a doubt. Plus, I loved that his office furniture was mixture of antiques set within the cold modern surroundings of his corner office. It was brilliant interior design.

My least favorite thing: That this story is all too real.

Rating: R
Length: 104 minutes

Review: 7 out of 10