X
- 2011
- R
- The Weinstein Company
- 1 h 44 m
- 2011
- R
- The Weinstein Company
- 1 h 44 m
Summary Bobby Walker is living the American dream: great job, beautiful family, shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing leaves him and co-workers Phil Woodward and Gene McClary jobless, the three men are forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands, and fathers. Bobby soon finds himself enduring enthusiastic life coaching, a j...
Directed By: John Wells
Written By: John Wells
- 2011
- R
- The Weinstein Company
- 1 h 44 m
- 2011
- R
- The Weinstein Company
- 1 h 44 m
The Company Men
69
6.5
Where to Watch
Summary Bobby Walker is living the American dream: great job, beautiful family, shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing leaves him and co-workers Phil Woodward and Gene McClary jobless, the three men are forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands, and fathers. Bobby soon finds himself enduring enthusiastic life coaching, a j...
Directed By: John Wells
Written By: John Wells
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 34 Critic Reviews
69
74% Positive
25 Reviews
25 Reviews
26% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 34 Critic Reviews
69
74% Positive
25 Reviews
25 Reviews
26% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Kevin Costner, as Bobby's carpenter brother-in-law, does the finest character acting of his career.
This potent, entirely honorable drama by veteran TV dramatist John Wells actually delivers the goods, pondering the pain and dislocation of the new normal.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 90 User Ratings
6.5
56% Positive
50 Ratings
50 Ratings
38% Mixed
34 Ratings
34 Ratings
7% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 90 User Ratings
6.5
56% Positive
50 Ratings
50 Ratings
38% Mixed
34 Ratings
34 Ratings
7% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
Not a perfect movie, but so basically intelligent in its treatment of the subject, and the characters, that it is one of the best films I have seen in years. The editing, pacing, is crisp, economical, never loses focus. The decision to deal with 3 major characters means that there is some thin-ness in treating the family situations of the principals. I'd have preferred knowing more about how the Chris Cooper character's family responds to following the romance of T L Jones's character. But all 3 are needed to cover the corporate relationships that are incisively explored in the film. 10 for me -- beats Black Swan hands down.
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This was a very accurate movie of the tragedy of downsizing. I work in HR and have been on the company side and I have been laid off, all is a correct portrayal of what happens. Whether certain characters weren't emphasized, or lousy editing, whatever, the point of the movie is how losing one's job can devastate one's self-esteem, finances, family, and reason for living. It is a reminder for those of us with jobs to have empathy and to do what we can for those who do not even now in 2011. Superb acting by everyone.
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Though not blessed with a cinematic eye, Wells is a gifted storyteller who gets nuanced performances from most of his actors.
A lot of this is compelling, after its didactic and heavily thematic fashion, but if you strip most of it away, along with Roger Deakins' handsome cinematography, you're left with the conflict between Jack and Bobby and something like "Shop Class as Soulcraft: The Movie."
As a drama about coping with hard times, The Company Men doesn't come close to being as sharp or entertaining as "Up in the Air" - which starred Wells' "ER" associate George Clooney.
A quintet of actors carve out a beautiful, ill-fated geometry in John Wells's layoff drama, which might play like a retort to "Up in the Air" if it didn't have shortcomings of its own.
There's nothing that feels like real rage, nothing that even remotely approximates the spiritual decimation of a termination.
A heart wrenching display of how the economic downturn really proved detrimental for Americans from all areas of life, both blue and white collar. Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, and Kevin Costner, all turn in thoroughly sympathetic performances as their lives are thrown into disarray with the economic turmoil around them. In addition to their general acting ability, director John Wells does a good job making us feel compassion for the three highly privileged characters and turns them into really tragic figures for a variety of reasons. Additionally, the story has been called mundane, but to me, it was very briskly paced and never really slacked. It did a good job generating drama and, honestly, thrills, as you waited to see what occurred in certain scenes. Essentially, The Company Men is a mildly uplifting, but largely moving display of how we need to shed the shackles placed on us by our jobs and find something that we are truly passionate about. Overall, The Company Men is a very good film from director John Wells.
Report
Not nearly as entertaining as delicate its treatment of the subject is handled, "The Company Men" hits home hard at a time when many are learning to walk the waters of business again. Strong performances (Jones, Cooper, and Affleck) are discreetly selected, spanning a variety of ages, hangups and incomes---taking more and more people closer to our troubling economic times. Its somber and elegiac tone may be too real for some to experience on screen, but a streak of optimism for the future hangs in the balances, or imbalances [of big business]. Verdict: "The Company Men" is a business-oriented film that is teemingly technical with jargon, weak in pulse, and palpably true.
Report
Amidst the global economic downturn, a few shinny boys lose their jobs and are confronted with their own egos and test their boundaries. A fine ensemble albeit none of them quite standing out, deliver a heartfelt result that seem to be quite relevant to today's realities.
Report
Un film sur les cols blancs au chômage, ceux qui ont du fourguer la baraque, la Porsche et tutti quanti, ceux qui se sont fait "restructurer" pour pas que les actionnaires s'inquiètent, car une entreprise, c'est comme une montgolfière : pour monter, il faut lâcher du lest. Le sujet a du potentiel, les acteurs aussi mis à part Ben Affligeant que l'on verrait bien au chômage pour de vrai, juste pour nous faire plaisir.
Le problème, c'est qu'on se sent plus concerné par un reportage de Bizenèsse FM que par ce (télé)film plat et insipide, résigné dont le message se borne à "c'est comme ça, c'est la vie, on n'y peut rien". Je propose de virer le réalisateur et les scénaristes pour foutage de gueule et incompétence crasse. Qu'ils aillent donc faire de la pub pour des déodorants.
Report
Curious subject, treated too lightly to have much impact, and with a corny smile pasted on the face of the issue by the end. Formulaic plot devices manufactured to tug on heartstrings without ringing true. Affleck plays his standard everyman (a hapless slave to his ego) who can't schedule a job interview.
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Production Company
The Weinstein Company,
Battle Mountain Films,
Spring Creek Productions,
Company Men Productions
Release Date Jan 21, 2011
Duration 1 h 44 m
Rating R
Genres
Tagline Big Business Just Cut The Wrong Guys
Website
http://www.companymenmovie.com/
Awards
AARP Movies for Grownups Awards
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
New York Film Critics, Online
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Satellite Awards
• 1 Nomination
