There's enough plot to stuff a miniseries, but Redford never loses sight of the human drama. Martyrdom is not conferred, nor is reinvention equated with redemption. Drawing skillfully on a first-rate cast, Redford builds a riveting, resonant political thriller that values the complexity of its characters and the intelligence of its audience.
Incredibly fascinating, sensitive, old fashioned cinema! The scenes between Redford and Christie make for a movie just by themselves! I found it compelling, moving, distinguished, extraordinarily acted, scored and photographed! And bringing up thoughts that way more often should be examined by films today, instead of explosions and/or Marvel's comics! W real cinema! Both Julie Christie and Susan Sarandon should be serious Oscar's contenders!
Incredible cast... superbly directed with a thoughtful, provocative, suspenseful story. No action figures and no explosions but it is not just about politics it is about us... the choices we make... career choices... relationships... compromises... how you deal with the past... secrets.... aging... parenting... personal sacrifices... the importance of values but not losing sight of humanity and friendship: enduring... surprising... disappointing and across party lines... Ignore what you hear and go see it. No matter what... it will get you talking after the movie.
The Company You Keep at least manages to maintain an audience’s interest for a solid 80 percent of the film. The ending is a slight flop, which keeps the film from an overall recommendation, and in the stark light of day, it seems fairly evident not everything adds up.
Robert Redford shows he is a great director making provocative movies like this one. at it's core it is a thriller, it becomes an examination of family, loyalty, sacrifice, and the rights of the press, The company you keep is well directed by Redford. Robert Redford proves he has still got acting ability, and he assembles a great cast. This an engrossing move
A film this well acted with this much talent should have a little more juice. Overall this film is still decent and deserves a mild recommendation if not just for the talent. B
Robert Redford, now 77, directs and stars in this film with a host of famous actors who are now all in their 60’s and 70’s—including Julie Christie, Susan Sarandon, Chris Cooper, Nick Nolte, Sam Elliott, and Richard Jenkins. The youngster in the film is Shia LaBeouf, the journalist who is determined to uncover a great story for his small-time Albany newspaper, regardless of ethical considerations.
The plot involves the real-life scenario of young American revolutionaries, or home-grown guerrilla fighters, known as the Weather Underground or the Weathermen, who organized in 1969 to protest the war in Vietnam. But long after the war ended, they continued with their activities up until 1981, when they finally disbanded. In their early days they planted bombs and helped Timothy Leary to escape from jail. They also blew up a bathroom in the Pentagon. No one was ever hurt. An earlier 1970 bombing at a police precinct where a sergeant was killed was eventually linked to the Black Liberation Army, although the Weather Underground was suspected initially.
In 1973 all charges against the Weather Underground were dropped because the Supreme Court barred any evidence that was gathered by electronic surveillance without a court order, which made it difficult to prosecute them. After that, the Weather Underground continued to operate, focusing mostly on Marxist-Leninist ideology with the publication of their manifesto, Prairie Fire, but the organization started to disintegrate in 1977 and finally dissolved in 1981. Because of the ruling in 1973, the top dogs in the organization were taken off the FBI Most Wanted List.
This film invents a scenario that imagines that thirty years later, certain members of the organization are still wanted by the FBI because of a bank robbery where a security guard was killed. The two most guilty parties, Mimi Lurie (Julie Christie) and Susan Solarz (Susan Sarandon) have new identities and have been at large for thirty years. Nick Sloane (Robert Redford) was also implicated, although mistakenly, and he is now an established lawyer, widowed, and living with his 11-year-old daughter under the assumed name Jim Grant. They are living in what looks like 2012, the year of filming, complete with cell phones, Facebook, and Google searches, while they trace their activities back thirty years, which would take us back to 1982, the year after the Weathermen disbanded and long after their most radical activities ceased.
The timeline doesn’t work. But Redford is not concerned with realistic scenarios; he is aiming for a reexamination of ethical values with respect to politicians, journalists, and every responsible citizen. The Wall Street criminals who nearly ruined the planet are not mentioned, but we know they are there, and they should probably turn themselves in along with everyone else.
Redford’s Sloan finds himself on the run again after Susan Solarz is arrested. He was not present at the bank robbery and only one person, his ex-girlfriend Mimi, can clear his name if she is willing to turn herself in. She isn’t, and Sloan has to despair that he will go to jail, and his daughter will have to be raised by relatives. Seeing Redford on the run in his 70’s is a joy to behold because he has retained all the charisma and athleticism of his youth. And seeing Redford and Christie share a scene is worth the entire movie.
We know Redford is a political activist, and this film suits him, but he is perhaps stretching the premise a little too thin. In any case, he can still star in films and be handsome and commanding, truly a feat in itself.
A super-average, run-of-the-mill culprit chase/crime drama film that is so mediocre that me and a family member, who were watching this film together, had a far better time exchanging stories the actors were involved in during their past films instead of giving this film much attention. The A-list cast of stars do absolutely nothing to give life to these boring, uninteresting as hell characters. Less reputable/noteworthy actors could have performed this film just fine. The fact that none of these characters are worthwhile to invest time into, only further emphasizes how shallow this film really is. This was an overall waste of my two hours and Robert Redford should just throw in the towel by this point. His days of directing/acting are over after what I had just witnessed.
A star studded cast go through the motions in this un-involving drama in which both situations and dialogue come off as phony. Of the performances Shia Lebouf comes off best as a young reporter who unmasks the identity of a suspected killer involved in a politically motivated incident that took place some 30 years before. Story wise the film reminds one of Sidney Lumet's 1988 film 'Running on Empty', but it in no way emulates that film's quality. Both Redford ann Julie Christie have been seen to better advantage.