The Company Men (2010)

The story centers on a year in the life of three men trying to survive a round of corporate downsizing at a major company - and how that affects them, their families, and their communities.

Director:

John Wells

Writer:

John Wells

Stars:

Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Affleck	...	Bobby Walker
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Gene McClary
Chris Cooper	...	Phil Woodward
Suzanne Rico	...	Gail
Kent Shocknek	...	Rittenour
Adrianne Krstansky	...	Carol
Lewis D. Wheeler	...	Ken
Celeste Oliva	...	Jane
Tom Kemp	...	Conal
Nancy Villone	...	Diane
Chris Everett	...	Barbara
Maria Bello	...	Sally Wilcox
Lance Greene	...	Landry
Kathy Harum	...	Karen
Allyn Burrows	...	Stevens

Storyline

When the GTX Corporation must cut jobs to improve the company's balance sheet during the 2010 recession, thousands of employees will take the hit, like Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck). Bobby learns the real life consequences of not having a job. Not only does he see a change to his family lifestyle, and the loss of his home, but also his feelings of self-worth.

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Plot Keywords:

downsizing | corporate downsizing | porsche | husband wife relationship | massachusetts | 

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Taglines:

In America, We Give Our Lives To Our Jobs. It's Time To Take Them Back

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp] The Weinstein Company [us]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 March 2011 (UK)

Also Known As:

Company Men

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$647,797 (USA) (21 January 2011)

Gross:

$4,439,063 (USA) (13 May 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Weinstein Company, The, Battle Mountain Films, Spring Creek Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Weinstein Company purchased the film at the 26th Sundance Film Festival for a mid-seven figure sum.

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Goofs

When Jim comes to Gene with a "peace offering" of Glenfiddich single malt, he pours himself a glass and places the bottle on the mantle with the back label facing out. The camera cuts to Gene, and when it cuts back to Jim, the bottle has been turned so the front label faces out.

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Quotes

HR Director: I'm confident all these dismissals will stand up under legal scrutiny.
Gene McClary: What about ethical scrutiny.
HR Director: We're not breaking any laws, Gene.
Gene McClary: I guess I always assumed were trying for a higher standard than that, Paul.

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Crazy Credits

Midway through the credits, financial reports from various news sources can be heard for a minute.

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Connections

References Halo (2001)

User Reviews

Movie with heart

I was able to find this online even though it's not at the movies, yet. The thing I like most about the movie is how it accurately depicts how the rich are getting richer in this recession while the bottom falls out for most of us. The daily news seems to report job losses in a matter-of-fact fashion these days. This movie puts a personal face on these out-of-work people - though dealing with it from the executive's perspective. I guess making a movie about how those on the lower economic spectrum - those MOST affected - just wouldn't be appealing enough for Hollywood. There would be the inconvenience of telling a story in which ALL of the characters remained in dire straits at the end - the way things still are today. I guess - like the politicians - Hollywood seems to be big on building hope in this one. At least by dealing with the layoffs from the executive's perspective, they were able to show some people NOT rebounding, but others actually getting their feet back under them. All in all, worth watching.