The Company Men

Really enjoyed this flick! Not what we expected. We got more than we expected. Great great cast with a great screenplay!

Don't waste your money

First of all, the acting is great in this film. Yes, these guys were high rollers. Chris Cooper's character, Phil Woodrow, worked his way up—all the way up. Tommy Lee Jones' character, Gene McClary, joined forces with his best friend, but found himself vulnerable as an executive vice president and not the head honcho. That was Craig T. Nelson's character, James Salinger. Salinger was number one for a reason, he was ruthless, especially in the clinches. McClary had a heart, but he didn't have a happy home life. In fact, his wife had the nerve to ask if she could take the company jet on an excursion to Miami, knowing full well the company was having difficulties, but ignorant about how an "ask" like that would reflect on her husband.So with all the turmoil raining down due to the massive layoffs of the company, GTX, the lives of the main characters were cast into state of vertigo, including Salinger who was fighting off corporate raiders intent on taking his conglomerate over. Thousands of jobs were heartlessly hatcheted.While chaos ensues in the lives of those cast aside, one of the "fired" employees, Ben Afflect's character Bobby Walker, is the only one who has his head on straight. "The Company Men" excels in using the Walker character to establish the film's moral compass. Yes, Walker and his wife Maggie—Rosemarie DeWitt is delightful in the role—face hard times and struggle. But Maggie is steadfast in keeping the family on course during the perfect storm that devastates Bobby's career plans. Bobby never loses his cool with anyone in his family, especially Maggie, because she helps him to concentrate on what is really important, the people in his life that he loves.The core plot is about the Walkers and their ability to maintain their focus on family values. Whether you're rich, poor, or just paddling as fast as you can to stay afloat, the film works.When forced to sell his Porsche and their McMansion before moving the family in with his parents, Bobby apologizes to Maggie for letting her down. But she's not unhappy at all. In fact, she's beaming. She's delighted that she and their two kids get to see him more. The kids never lose stability and they flourish as a result. In fact, their son returns an XBox Christmas present to the store because he knows they can't afford it.So, yes, this is a film about high rollers who most people envy and want to BE them. But in this material world where everyone's in a rush to "make it," the Walkers are a breath of fresh air. It's not a film about obscene excess. It's a film about maintaining your values, regardless of how your plans turn out.

I think this story delivers an important message in a way that is easily relatable for many people. It's a modern-day take on the age old "rags-to-riches-to-rags" theme. The main characters, who have worked their way up the corporate ladder to a life of luxury that others only dream of, are suddenly faced with the cold, hard reality that it can all be taken away in no time at all, no matter who you are. What a crushing blow to learn that years of time and dedication are no longer of value thanks to the almighty to the bottom line. Greed is a powerful force that thrives on gaining more with no regard for the destruction left in its wake.One of the most significant events during my childhood was that of my father losing his job in 1970 and the impact it had on our lives. It was a major blow to his self esteem. He worked for the same mega-corporation that both of my grandfathers had retired from after decades of hard work. He had planned to do the same. He was part of a generation that grew up believing in the benefits of dedicating yourself to a good company and therefore being respected and rewarded for your effort.He was blindsided by a massive downsizing layoff and was distraught at suddenly being unable to support our single-income family. Jobs were scarce because so many other men were in the same situation, and ultimately my parents were forced to sell our newly built home - the dream house they had worked and saved for over the years. They bought a mobile home and we lived on the corner of a relatives property. He found a job at a small manufacturing plant where he was miserable but nonetheless busted his back for 30+ years ... and then was ultimately screwed out of his promised retirement package when the company later went under.I think it's because of that I realized early in my career that business is a game involving players who are driven by their own particular motivation. Some people are team players whose goal is working for the greater good of everyone involved, while others have no true concern for anyone but themselves and will step on everyone who gets in their way. You've got to play the game to succeed, but I believe it's the honest, empathetic and hard-working people who are the winners no matter how many dollar signs are on their paycheck.

If you are searching for a movie to show the inner workings of Corporate America, you need to watch this movie. Although the story does not deeply delve into the business aspects of running the corporations, it draws a realistic picture of how such corporations treat their loyal employees when it comes to ensuring profitability of the company. It is a cruel world where everyone is happy if things are going well but the events soon turn nasty if the business hits a bump and profits or stock prices take a nosedive. Then everyone is for himself/herself.The story was coherent and interesting and involved several employees at different levels at the same company which goes through financial upheaval. Despite the presence of famous names, the acting was not at the tops. I expected better performance from Tommy Lee Jones and Ben Affleck. On the other hand, Chris Cooper and Craig Nelson presented stellar performances, albeit at lesser roles. The rest of the cast including Kevin Costner performed at 3-star level, IMO. Nevertheless, the solid story line and overall coherence of the plot makes this movie a must-see for everyone interested in corporate America. The Hollywood-style ending of the story was not too unrealistic either as most folks recover with a career do-over.

good movie. great cast

The Company Men calmly reflects a recessive economic climate through a downsizing company. Financial stability is the sole craving in everyone’s life. The upper class. The middle class. Every class. The notion to which one will never encounter the fear of losing their personal possessions and their career position. Corporate employees specifically seek the solidity in their salaries, to be able to provide for their own pride and families. When the economic recession devastated the States last decade, its impact was critical. Innocent workers essentially lost their lives, driving themselves into the descent of debt.Wells’ well-intentioned drama explores the collapse of a shipbuilding corporation, following various employees that have been made redundant and/or steering the metaphoric sinking ship. It’s an off-beat peculiarity that forces Wells’ direction to be enticing and inadvertently unappealing simultaneously. The characters themselves, particularly Marketing VP Walker, HR Manager Wilcox and CEO Salinger, are insufferably narcissistic. Walker especially who envelops himself in pride, given the immense financial loss he encounters that prevents him from fully supporting his family and being able to play at luxurious golf club houses. The response to his firing, whilst natural in the sense that he refuses to release the life that he leads, abnormally thinks more about himself than his family. The overwhelming aura of egotism, not just from him, constrains these characters to be unlikeable.Yet the peculiarity in Wells’ execution is that, despite the vehement behaviour, there’s a sympathetic undertone throughout. Not because you relate to the characters, but the scenario instead. Wells delicately leaves several moments to hang, simmering on a bed of dismissal, that forces you to position yourself in the characters’ shoes. With that in mind, he manages to transform the unappealing characteristics of these employees and turn them into tolerable motives. Slowly but surely, through enduring perseverance, opportunities are tackled. And that’s exactly the purpose of The Company Men.It illustrates the tenacity of the human spirit during uncertain times. The orienteering session being a prime example of depicting this motive. Anyone who has been in a situation such as redundancy will relate to this film for its situational representation, not for its characters. That’s no criticism on the acting though, as each performance is competently given without resorting to melodrama. Cooper in particular gave a nuanced and credible performance, that left his character’s fate somewhat unpredictable.My main issue however is the scope of The Company Men. Instead of focussing on just one employee, Wells’ decided to explore the entirety of GTX’s corporate ladder. Whilst harmless for its narrative structure, it did downplay the severity of the recession. Almost making light of the national economic declination. Solely following one employee through this hard time would’ve produced greater character development whilst also tackling the recession from each angle. Wells’ intentions were clear, just didn’t entirely work for me on an emotional level. Fortunately Deakins’ cinematography consistently entranced with his beautiful autumnal shots, but that’s not surprising let’s be honest.Much like precariously balancing on the corporate tightrope, The Company Men occasionally stumbles with its peculiar narrative and character choices yet seemingly gets the job done with assured performances and a heartfelt motive. Remember, remain positive even in the darkest of moments.

The movie itself is great (based on my memory of seeing it a couple of years ago) but I am giving this review to highlight the fact that the item with ASIN of B004Q9T3IG is not actually a region free edition of The Company Men.I live abroad (Japan) and when I received this item and put it in my player, it flashed up that the disc could only be played in a Region B player, or words very close to that effect.Amazon have said that they will give me a refund, which is very reassuring and a big plus from the customer service side of things.The case of the item that I received matches exactly the images on Amazon's product description page, with the exception that I have a 7-digit number at the base of the spine of my cover. I have looked closely at the case and the disc, and I cannot find any marking that determines the intended region for the disc. I am aware that the markings can be easy to miss at times but I have checked, checked and checked again in my attempts to locate them. Based on that, I can see why somebody has indicated that this edition is region free. However, the sad truth for anyone living abroad who wants to purchase this movie at a reasonable cost is that it's region B only.I will update or remove this review if it is brought to my attention that the product information has been or gets corrected at some point in time.

A brilliant, compelling and smart story about corporation and how merciless rules of profit can change people and people's life. All in a very balanced way, helped by the effective and sometimes sympathetique performance of the whole cast.

Company Men ist ein Film der zum Zeitpunkt seines erscheinens 2010 ein aktuelles Thema thematisierte. Begonnen in den USA und später weltweit gab es eine Finanzkrise die Millionen von Jobs vernichtete und nochmals Millionen Arbeitnehmern Angst um ihre noch verbliebenen Jobs machte. In Company Men geht es genau um das, um Arbeitnehmer die ihre Jobs verlieren wie genauso um die Angst diese zu verlieren und damit auch ihr bisheriges Leben.Es ist nun mal einfach nicht Alltag das man in seinem Job so viel Geld verdient das man sich von selber über einen längeren Zeitraum auch ohne festes Einkommen über Wasser halten kann. Oftmals sind das eigene Haus oder das neue Auto eben nicht gekauft sondern nur finanziert. Und ist der Job weg und damit das erwartete feste Einkommen wird es auch schwierig dieses und weiteres weiterhin zu finanzieren.In Company Men geht es um Bobby Walker (gespielt von Ben Affleck), Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) und Gene McClary (Tommy Lee Jones) die alle mehr als gut bezahlte (aber trotzdem auch unterschiedlich bezahlte) Jobs haben und sie plötzlich verlieren. Dabei fallen die drei sehr unterschiedlich, um ehrlich zu sein fällt Gene McClary gar nicht. Für die ersten beiden allerdings hat der Job Verlust erhebliche Auswirkungen auf ihr bisheriges Leben das nicht mehr dasselbe ist wie zuvor.Die Thematik war natürlich nicht nur damals aktuell sie ist es auch heute und war es immer und wird es immer auch sein. Entlassungen gibt es immer und hinter jeder Entlassung verbirgt sich auch ein Schicksal. Und solche werden hier u.a. thematisiert.Der Film hat ein ernstes Thema und geht das auch durchaus auch ernst hat und doch hat der Film irgendwie auch was leichtes. Der Film zeigt auf das das Leben immer weiter geht und es nach jedem Schicksalsschlag auch immer wieder neue Möglichkeiten gibt.Der Film unterhält und das schafft er auch u.a. durch die tollen Darsteller. Hier sind ja einige bekannte Gesichter zu sehen wie z.B. Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner und Craig T. Nelson sind die Namen die mir bekannt sind. Weniger bekannt waren mir bisher Chris Cooper, Rosemarie DeWitt und Maria Bello und doch sind sie für den Film unglaublich wichtig und haben hier aber wirklich überzeugt. Besonders Chris Cooper ist hier hervorzuheben.Natürlich handelt es sich hier um einen Film. Das irgendwie Happy End am ende ist natürlich meistens nicht der Normalverlauf und doch passt sehr wahrscheinlich eher nach Amerika als zu uns. Ich wenigstens mag auch das als einen guten Anschluss eines guten Films.Company Men ist so ein gelungener Film der ein immer aktuelles Thema behandelt mit überzeugenden Darstellern und einer trotz aller Ernsthaftigkeit auch irgendwo ruhiger Story. Einfach ein unterhaltsamer Film.

Pellicola magnifica che ha rilanciato alla grande Ben Affleck e Kevin Costner, qui in un ruolo di supporto.Film molto asciutto, con dialoghi scarni, poca retorica, meno sentimentalismo, tuttavia carico di valori e forza morale.Tre uomini, tre età differenti, tre ruoli e stipendi diversi all'interno di un compagnia enorme, che in seguito alla crisi, fusione con altre aziende e riduzione del personale, li lascia a casa senza lavoro.Chi col lavoro perde la fonte di reddito e non riesce a far fronte al tenore di vita raggiunto, chi a 60 anni si sente tradito dall'azienda per cui ha sempre lavorato, e chi, seppur benestante ha contribuito a fondare quel l'azienda e ha perso il senso del lavoro fatto durante la sua vita. Tre storie diverse, tre disagi differenti, che fanno riflettere moltissimo sul valore del lavoro in rapporto all'evoluzione dell'economia moderna.Il finale equilibrato tra amarezza e speranza.Un gioiello della cinematografia statunitense degli ultimi anni.