| 100 |
Entertainment Weekly
Stunning, unsettling, beautifully written drama.
|
| 100 |
Austin Chronicle
As disturbing as it is well-made, this low-budget indie is a thoroughly original piece of work.
|
| 100 |
The Onion (A.V. Club)
John Krewson
Writer/director Neil LaBute has taken the gender-issues film into uncharted, almost inhuman territory with this malevolently perfect exploration of male cruelty.
|
| 100 |
Chicago Sun-Times
What is remarkable is how realistic the story is.
|
| 100 |
ReelViews
In the Company of Men is anything but entertaining. It's virtually impossible to sit through this film without suffering bouts of intense discomfort, and therein lies its power.
|
| 90 |
Chicago Reader
It's virtually guaranteed to make us squirm.
|
| 90 |
Washington Post
This is a fully realized movie, whose intelligence -- despite its grim findings -- dwarfs any Hollywood production.
|
| 90 |
Film.com
One of the best films of the year, a polished, contained piece of provocation.
|
| 90 |
The New Republic
An unusually fine screenplay, then, yet LaBute's accomplishment goes further. He has envisioned a cinematic style for his film that harmonizes exactly with its theme and mood. [Sept 1, 1997]
|
| 88 |
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
In the end, like any satire worth the name, In the Company of Men spins around to fire its biggest salvo at its ultimate target -- the audience.
|
| 80 |
Slate
A dazzling, repellent exercise in which the case against men is closed before it's opened.
|
| 80 |
Newsweek
Jeff Giles
A brutal black comedy. It asks real questions and takes real chances.
|
| 80 |
LA Weekly
A provocative, timely script full of gasp-inducing lines and scenes.
|
| 80 |
Time
Cool, shiny, handsomely made and, in its compelling-repelling way, mordantly funny.
|
| 80 |
Variety
Pics greatest achievement is its sharply poignant dialogue which, despite the horrible consequences of the contest it describes, is also darkly amusing.
|
| 80 |
Film.com
As a writer, LaBute is capable of creating long dialogue scenes that never seem stagey or artificial. As a director, he has the confidence to stay with those words.
|
| 75 |
USA Today
A provocative dissection of human dynamics.
|
| 75 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Ruthe Stein
Tersely written and compellingly acted. But its controversial subject matter may make a lot of viewers so angry that the film's strong points will be disregarded.
|
| 75 |
Chicago Tribune
The movie sticks with you, thanks to LaBute's observational powers and the three impressive lead performances. [15 August 1997, Friday, p.C]
|
| 70 |
The New York Times
It exaggerates real, recognizable attitudes in a manner that intends to be disturbing.
|
| 60 |
Los Angeles Times
A one-trick pony, a movie that has a gift only for making audiences squirm.
|
| 60 |
TV Guide
This is a film worth seeing, and LaBute is a filmmaker well worth watching.
|
| 60 |
Salon.com
A singularly unpleasant movie.
|
| 60 |
New Times (L.A.)
Peter Rainer
It's Mamet without the rich slanginess and heat of which he's capable at his best.
|
| 50 |
San Francisco Examiner
An independent film so enamored of itself it refuses to have any fun.
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