photo © 2009 Angela George | more info (via: Wylio)It was just last year that we got Up in the Air, a timely, excellent film about the financial crisis as it pertains to the working man and woman. This year, we get the Boston-set The Company Men, a Ben Affleck starring film that while nowhere near as a good as Up in the Air, still finds a few more things to add that aren't simply retreads of things we've already seen.
Affleck plays Bobby Walker, a newly laid-off executive who is too proud to admit to his friends that he's lost his job. He's too proud to alter the way he lives, and at first tries to be very optimistic about his stressful situation. As the poor job market begins to take it's toll through rejection after rejection, Walker begins to transform into more of an angry, stressed out individual. This effects his family, his friends, and sets him on a different course that he never would have predicted for himself. His former colleague, Gene (Tommy Lee Jones), pops up here and there with his own story, as do roles for Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Craig T. Nelson.
I really liked the way the film intertwined quite a few simple stories around the devastating, all-too-real premise of this poor job market. This is no masterpiece - some of the story-lines are very predictable and clichéd. These portions are matched though by a few really heartfelt and original ones. For those portions, I would recommend this film. I would give it a 6.5 out of 10.
Parental Take: There is the standard Maria Bello boob shot (her agent must require it), and quite a bit of profanity which earn it the R.
If You Like The Company Men Try: Without a doubt, Up in the Air.
Thanks for sharing the movie review,I really enjoyed this movie.Company Men will connect with anyone for whom the new reality of today's economy hits close to home.
ReplyDelete