The Company Men [DVD] [2010]

The Company Men explores the very contemporary issues of the effect of redundancy during a recession and its specific effect on the personal lives of the people at the receiving end of the dreaded layoff notice. There are several stages to the process. Firstly, from the corporate perspective the company, in this case a US company in shipbuilding, is under enormous pressure to perform for its stockholders as the economic slump bites and orders fall off. The all too predictable response is to cut costs and since payroll is the biggest cost, this means cutting jobs.

The axe cuts deep and the company is forced to make difficult decisions to terminate long serving and loyal staff. The film focuses on three of these people and explores the various personal issues involved. There is initial incredulity and some bitterness that they could have been treated in this way, but optimism about finding a new job. Then realisation that it is difficult in a harsh economic climate for someone of 37 to find employment, let alone someone nearing retirement. People react in different ways to both the emotional issues of being out of a job and the economic implications and most of the film focuses on these aspects.

This an interesting and absorbing film, but in many ways depressing as the situation it describes is one which many people will be able to relate to or will have experienced at some stage in their lives. Ben Affleck plays a confident Sales Director, Chris Cooper is the older, senior executive, who has worked his way up from the shop floor and Tommy Lee Jones is one of the company's founders and a senior statesman. Affleck is particularly outstanding and his reaction to the economic reality of his new status is quite revealing as all the trappings of his middle class life come under threat.

So to summarise, a worthwhile, gritty film which explores important real life issues, but certainly not a light hearted way to while away an hour or two.

Tough Company - depressing current drama.

This drama is quite a good watch, surprisingly. Ben Affleck and Tommy Lee Jones are excellent as their usual roles and the film is well thought out, and real in feel. The story runs as expected, interesting and entertaining to an an extent, even if arrestingly morose at first. Redundancies in banking aside, I fear the only people who will probably see this are Affleck fans, and that is not a shame.

It's 2008, and America's financial market has crashed, with their largest bank closing. This lead to thousands of redundancies, with this film focusing in on dramatic life changes for a leading arrogant banker and CEO as they are knocked off their perches.

The film takes itself seriously, and its very nature makes it an almost gruelling watch, which I'm sure is the point...but does deliver an acceptable viewing and lighter finish. The film is arguably too long, limited and very reliant on the 2 main leads, but it does have a nice support cast (Costner, Walker and Bello) and tries to follow a feel good road.

Overall, just a good film.

This is an interesting take on a very pressing current issue: Corporate ruthlessness and downsizing in a recessional, ultra capitalistic economy.

The story is told through the eyes of three white collar, 'Company Men'. Brash, arrogant, full of himself, Bob Walker MBA, chief sales director, a 37 year old, high flyer, married father of two, (Ben Affleck). Then we have Phil Woodward, 61, an older father, who worked his way up from the shop floor, (Chris Cooper) and finally Gene McClary, divisional manager and founder of the same ship building company GTX, even older, (TLJ). And mixed in for good measure, is the blue collar worker, Kevin Costner, who lives in a much smaller house, and rougher neighbourhood - Ben Affleck's brother in law.

Cameras are rolling: action. The film moves along, almost as ruthlessly as the redundancies themselves, so in the first round of jobs cuts, Walker is almost bluntly disregarded, as the changing of a water bottle. But arrogant Affleck is very slow to react - you can't fire me syndrome - I'm beyond that, and he doesn't wake up until it's too late. He could have taken a job with half the salary, but he loses his rag in the interview. Stupid boy, anything is better than nothing - but not when you're used to everything it is not....the American Dream comes crashing down all around him. Material gain and social mobility now seem like a distant memory. Costner calls him a 'dick' and, later a lousy carpenter, he's right. You can't be something you're not - try as you might. Don't ever get too comfortable either.

But pause right there. The whole ethos of this working life and the pivotal moment of the film - He should have taken the 'lesser' job, if offered it, but his ego, and what he's used to, won't let him. He thinks, incorrectly, he deserves better. And there's the moral of the story. No one deserves better, we live in the up and down capitalistic society, when times are good, we save for the bad times. Enjoy it while it lasts. But Affleck was a spendthrift, that lived one day at a time. You can do that if you're single, with no kids, cos it's just you. But if you got a family, then you can't. Now he gets his comeuppance. But there are no major rows, or trashing the place. The film lacks intensity and urgency in that respect.

Press play again: ....And as time goes on, the unemployed bob walker gets rejection after rejection. He even flies to Chicago, but there's mix up with the dates. His more rational, understanding wife (Rosemarie DeWitt), reacts much faster than he does, and breaks the mould of the stereotypical, materialistic, shopping addicted, girly girl, and says they instantly have to cut back, sell the house and downsize, just like the company he used to work for, but he initially refuses. But is later forced to back down and the Porsche goes too.

Elsewhere other staff who lose jobs in the second wave of cuts have other concerns. Older Chris Cooper, is told to change his appearance, drastically change is resume, and get his act together, but ultimately, his age and his chance of finding anything new is vapourised. He kills himself, after an interview when the other guy says, 'I can't put you forward for the job, your too old, they'd laugh me out of the meeting' The film doesn't linger on that point tho. Which again belies the ruthlessness of the corporate world - which firmly belongs in the hands of the shareholders and the value of the stock. People are just objects to be manipulated. It's up to you how fast you react. But that still doesn't guarantee anything.

Then we have TLJ, a bit of a hypocrite, since he's having an affair with the same HR woman who sacks everyone, he goes on about people, and their jobs and loss of livelihoods, as opposed to the CEO who is more corporately orientated, doesn't lose his job and gets to keep his massive pay cheque and bonus. But TLJ gets fired too, eventually. After a while he decides to start from scratch, and at the end of the film re-hires Affleck (for less money than he was on), who has since been working for Kevin Costner (he had to swallow his pride and go ask him for it). And then we're back to square one. I doubt that would happen in real life though. Ship building is a dead industry these days. Manufacturing is dead. The ending of the film is a bit of a let down.

But overall, this was good viewing. Played well and very realistic. Lots of reality checks needed. Although the budget was tiny (considering the cast) - a true symbol of the times perhaps??. It did lousy box office. Maybe people were put off by the subject matter at a time when people least need to be reminded of the real situation. On a wider point, the same subject matter wouldn't real appeal to a younger audience either, despite the cast. But overall It was enjoyable. Wake up calls indeed.