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:

For Them, Business Is Anything But Usual.

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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 Bobby first picks up the plywood to carry upstairs you can see it has many knotholes on both sides. When he arrives upstairs the plywood is clear (no knots).

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Quotes

Phil Woodward: Dress code pretty lax around here?
Bobby Walker: You should see casual-Friday...

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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

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #19.76 (2011)

User Reviews

Good business movie, very good

I don't know much about business, but that doesn't mean it's hard to appreciate a good business movie. Despite a few dumbed down bits, The Company Men, comes with a feeling of authenticity with some heart and decent performances from everybody. That is good enough for me.

In a hundred minutes, The Company Men gives us a small taste of what The recession did to American business. It does so in a way that favours character over making anti-corporate statements. The movie chooses to zoom in on the lives of three sales executives and how they deal with job loss.

I've never been in love with Ben Affleck, but when he wants to, he can show some professionalism. In The Company Men he does just that, proving capable of hitting all the emotional notes when necessary, something I feel he missed in his previous film the Town.

The Company Men is actually a rather sad movie. It's only a hundred minutes, but it feels longer. There's a lot of talk, but nothing ever feels too contrived, wasted or unnecessary. Is it a brilliant film? No, but I can safely recommend it.