Rated R for language and brief nudity
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, Maria Bello, Rosemarie DeWitt, Kevin Costner, Craig T. Nelson, Eamon Walker
Director: John Wells
The thought of one's livelihood vanishing in a second can give rise to the most terminating of ideas. At one point in John Wells' "The Company Men," one character, when faced with the proposition of moving his family into his parents' home, says "I'd rather die. I would actually choose death." That's what most anyone would say... until you're actually faced with that situation. When fear actually does give way to reality, decisions become a little more malleable.
Pain and sadness flow throughout "The Company Men" but hope is there, too. The story, about a trio of business executives who suddenly find themselves severed from their careers after a bout of downsizing, is not so much about their lives being turned completely, unexpectedly upside down, but rather about how those nagging fears in the back of any successful person's head--those that involve losing what they have--come to unfortunate fruition. Behind every successful person is a fear of not being successful.
The execs work for Global Transportation Express, a New England-based shipping company whose growth appears to have slowed to a standstill. One of the first to be let go is Robert Walker (Ben Affleck). He is consumed with animosity toward his employers, yet believes he will find another job soon enough. His wife Maggie (Rosemarie DeWitt) begins slashing the family budget, including such steps as selling their home.
The other two executives are Phil Woodworth (Chris Cooper), a whip-smart, fiery division head who has worked with the same company his entire occupational life, beginning literally on the factory floor. And Gene McClary (Tommy Lee Jones), a mid-level executive who was once best friends with the company's head honcho (Craig T. Nelson), but who has become disillusioned with scores of good people being shipped out onto the streets of despair while CEOs rake in the dollars.
The film is essentially an observation of the steps taken by each man as they come to terms with their situation, their relationships, and their "new" place in the world.
Robert has a tough time accepting the reality of his situation, feeling the need to appear successful, even minus a job. ("I can't just be another asshole with a resume!") He is blessed, however, with a wife that does her best to manage the family's financial morass while attempting to navigate the internal struggles faced by her husband. He is offered work by his brother-in-law, Jack (Kevin Costner) who works as a building contractor. Robert scoffs at the idea. He couldn't sink to the level of construction work. (Though it never really occurs to him that Jack has always been much more content with his life.) After witnessing the financial sacrifices made by his family, he finally relents and joins Jack's crew.
Gene is married to a woman he no longer feels a connection toward, and has entered into an affair with Stacey (Maria Bello), another employee at the company who has been put in charge of determining who gets let go. Their relationship is interesting in that the lovers have entered into the union to battle a similar self-loathing. They both took corporate jobs long ago under the assumption that they could facilitate positive change from the inside, only to realize the phrase "nature of the beast" was coined for a very distinct reason.
Phil's subplot is the most powerful and heartbreaking. A sixty-year-old man with financial obligations that must be met, his most crucial scene has him across the desk from a headhunter who marks up his resume with red ink while offering job hunt tips. She scribbles, crosses out things. "Get rid of anything ancient. Pre-90s," she informs him. Crosses more of Phil's accomplishments out. Scribbles. "You might want to dye your hair, get rid of the gray. You look like hell." More scribbling. She litters his resume with red markings. "Here... for military service, don't put Vietnam. Too old. Just say military combat operations." This man's dignity is being crushed beneath the weight of those red marks.
The movie is not a blistering attack on corporate greed. Documentaries like "Inside Job" take a more pointed aim in that direction. This is a quiet, grounded, thoughtful examination of people who reside somewhere between the tragic reality of being homeless and the corporate CEOs who hunker down behind all-too-simple fiscal platitudes when pressed about the lives affected by certain financial decisions.
At the center of the story lies the realization that we all have a reserve... a capacity for adaptation that can be called upon in the event our worst fears somehow morph into an unfortunate reality. We must take solace in that reserve, even if the thought of tapping into it scares the hell out of us.
* * * out of * * * * stars
