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Critics Consensus: The Company You Keep is a (frustratingly) slow-burning thriller about very contemporary issues.
Critic Consensus: The Company You Keep is a (frustratingly) slow-burning thriller about very contemporary issues.
All Critics (116) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (63) | Rotten (53)
This is the most depressing movie ever made about radicalism.
You can't help but applaud the effort, even as it falls short.
Redford the director keeps things moving smoothly, avoiding too many lengthy monologues while still getting the point across ...
A drama that's more than a look at what happened to a generation of socially aware hippies whose new drug of choice is likely Lipitor.
Redford is an adequate director, and he keeps things moving at a moderate pace, passing up exits to more spectacular vistas or hotter issues.
What gets revealed should rattle, but it doesn't.
The story is further bogged down by using Ben as a narrative device, since everything has to switch gears to incorporate him and it doesn't feel as though the filmmakers are especially interested in his character's dilemmas.
But as Redford's serious film reminds us, there's no point to saving the world and losing your soul -- or abandoning the souls of those for whom you're responsible.
The Company that Redford and his celebrated cronies keep is refreshing...fine wine can age better with time. But as far as stimulating political pot-boilers are concerned it is time for these rocking chair radicals to surrender altogether.
Redford wimps out.
Human connections the actors well establish are more convincing than political messages. . .Much is head-scratching and moral debates are more rueful than thoughtfully deep.
It feels like a relic from another time, which isn't exactly a bad thing.
An under-rated, but good film starring, and directed by Robert Redford. The acting is solid throughout, and Shia LaBeouf is surprisingly good. It was a treat to see Julie Christie again, also! She still looks lovely. What makes this movie compelling is that it aims at the intellect. It is not just a movie about aging 60's activists, and extremists. It discusses the motivations, and philosophy of the period. Well done...
Super Reviewer
It's just not a good story.
** "The Company You Keep" is one of those complex thrillers with some twists and turns, that just doesn't work out quite like it could have. I dunno what it was about it, but I didn't think it was as good as it could have been. It stars Shia LeBeouf as a reporter who learns the true identities of fugitives who had committed a murder 30 years prior. It weaves back and forth between him trying to find the truth, and one of fugitives trying to clear his name to remain with his daughter. The fugitive in question is played by Robert Redford(who also directs) and man he is still great after all these years. He has that "movie star" quality that a lot of actors just don't have anymore. The cast is great, even LeBeouf does a good job. Susan Sarandon, Sam Elliot, Terrance Howard, Richard Jenkins, among others round out the stellar cast. But the pacing and subject matter just don't really sustain(at least for me). I think if it focused more on Redford, and less on LeBeouf, it would have been better. But then again, it would have been a completely different movie. I love a good political type thriller(for example, "Ides of March" was pretty good)but this was just "meh". Maybe it was when I watched it(kind of late at night) and just wasn't as interested as I could have been. Maybe on a second viewing I will like it more. I can see why people will like it, because it is a smart movie. But at the same time, I can see how it will be off putting for others. Worth a rental? Sure, judge for yourself. But I'd pick up a spare movie just in case;-)
Redford has assembled an amazing cast, excepting LeBeouf who can't keep up, to tell what should be a fascinating story but somehow misses the mark through slow pacing and a lack of sharp focus. Julie Christie is wonderful making more of her part than is on the page but Susan Sarandon isn't properly used as is true with all the talent involved. Not a terrible film it just could have been much more.
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