The Company Men

(Synopsis) When the GTX Corporation must cut jobs to improve the company's balance sheet during the 2010 recession, thousands of employees like Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) will take the hit. The company really doesn't care about their employees who have given many years of loyal and faithful service. To the company they are not faces, but only numbers. Bobby learns the real life consequences of not having a job. Not only does he see a change in his family lifestyle, and the loss of his home, but also his feelings of self-worth.

(My Comment) This is a story of what many workers in the U.S. are enduring during the present economic crisis. Many companies are cutting jobs by the thousands to placate their shareholders by reducing the company's employee overhead and hopefully driving up their stock price. Actually the movie shows the hardships and what can happen to anyone, including people in management, when they no longer have a job. It first affects them internally, then their families, and finally the communities they live in. Out of work people first resist changing their lifestyles, then they go into denial, and finally acceptance of the hand they have been dealt. Ben Affleck's outstanding performance of enduring disappointment of not finding a job and worry for not providing for his family proved this point. The moral of the story is that we should not take our jobs for granted. (The Weinstein Company, 1:49 Rated R) (7/10)

Is this really the nearest Hollywood comes to understanding the real world - and the economic 'downturn' ?

A bunch of more corporate, unsympathetic characters you could not hope to imagine but they are all forced to embark on a voyage of discovery by heartless, cost-cutting conglomerates who have the audacity to fire executives further up the chain.

Chris Cooper (normally brilliant) discovers that more elderly people may struggle to find employment in the workplace whilst Ben Affleck (not normally brilliant) is made to realise that people wear gloves at work, have to carry heavy things and don't even go out to lunch on their breaks. Tommy Lee Jones just looks surly and grouches a lot... though his millions of dollars of shares increase in value, thank goodness.

The huge house and top-of-the-range German cars are on the line though as times get truly 'slightly uncomfortable' but thankfully it's Afflecks' sons' X-Box that goes first and the awful step down to manual labour doesn't seem so bad when you can master the wielding of a nail-gun in five minutes flat.

Corporate America is often an ugly thing, and this trite, patronising offering is no exception. It is almost nauseating in its' attempt to extract some sort of audience feeling for these greedy, grasping corporate 'executives'.

Who cares ?

Whether we like it or not the last couple of years have been incredibly tough, and TCM though not perfect at least tries to make an honest film about downsizing in corporate America.

We really really got this - we all know someone whose lost their home, their job, or just found that the money isn't there the way it was - and those who reviewed this and said the films doesn't work as the characters have still got it good just don't get the college payments, the mortgage, the fear of losing it all, and the horrendous amount of money it takes to maintain a life in the US now is astronomical - and TCM at least looks at this as no other film has in the past three years.

Solid performances from everyone and Affleck in particular echoing his roles in Man about Town or Jersey Girl does a solid job here as the man who has it all and then has nothing.

It it does try to record something which otherwise seems to be in danger of being swept under the carpet - this is a well-made film that rings true and for our money was actually one of the more memorable and yes, even moving, films of the year - it is accessible and a likable film.

This is a well done film that shows the impact of today's economy on a variety of individuals, mostly from the same company. Add in a bit of the corporate greed theme and there you have it - a somewhat depressing view of today's work world.

This is a bit different from other films of this ilk in that it also delves into the higher executive ranks and the impact decisions made for "shareholder value" has to all levels of an organization.

A thoroughly depressing film that takes on a very serious issue and generally succeeds.

Perhaps this should be mandatory viewing for all with the power over the careers of others.

Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper and Craig T. Nelson all do extremely well in their roles as does Kevin Costner, although he strains a bit on his New England accent early in the film.

All in all, a very nice film of a very depressing subject.

This was a timely film given that the subject matter is the effect on men of losing their jobs and, as a result, their feelings of worth, their status within the world and to a certain extent their identity. It is not only timely in fact but it also had the potential to be very smart in regards the characters and the commentary on the challenges that start with money problems but go much deeper. To a certain extent the film manages to do this because it is at its best when it allows the characters to simply be on the screen and struggling with their situations, but there is a generalness to it that prevents it being consistently engaging and smart.

The nature of the characters is a big part of it – perhaps not for everyone but for most viewers the problems of laid off executives may not be the easiest subject to care too much about. I know ultimately they are all people, but the problems of those having to give up Ferraris or no longer being able to maintain the lavish lifestyle they once had is not the most accessible of things; and it is a problem that it never quite shakes off because again of this general approach. The characters are interesting still though and it is a decent stab at seeing the struggle of becoming unemployed after many years working, it just doesn't do it well enough. The main character comes over as arrogant and ungrateful for too long – it is necessary at first but later on it becomes grating as it combines with his own decision to live to the maximum of his means rather than being a little more modest and saving some of his large income. The older characters get away with this a bit more since their stories tend to be more about the emotional impact rather than events and this does buy the film some good material but not enough to make up for the weaknesses in its central character.

The cast help this a lot, even though they are nearly too distracting by how many famous faces there are. Affleck has the most time but does the least with it as he never manages to make a person from his situation and only just stops being annoying in time for a sentimental conclusion. Jones and Cooper are much better in their roles and they have more of the heart to play. Bello, Costner, Nelson and others are good in support; Walker is sadly only notable for how much weight he has put on since I first saw him in Oz.

The Company Men had potential to explore the male characters in a way that minimizes the distraction of their previous incomes however it doesn't quite manage it. The cast mostly do well but the central concept is too focused on events and too focused on an upbeat conclusion that the subject doesn't really merit.