This brutalizing 1997 character study of the misogyny among competitive males still stings with its spot-on accuracy of the corporate male psyche. With an obviously limited budget, this first-time feature from writer/director Neil LaBute really turns its characters inside out with a visceral potency that could not have been attempted by the major studios. The plot focuses on two middle management types, Chad and Howard, who are on a six-week project in the company's Midwest branch office. On the surface, Chad is a smooth-talking braggadocio who after breaking up with his girlfriend, claims to be fed up with the neediness of women. But underneath is a dark sociopath who is unfathomably cruel to anyone in his path. Watch the scene where he makes a black co-worker pull down his pants to prove he has the "balls" for a higher profile assignment.
Having just been dumped by his fiancée, Howard seems like the more benign of the two and looks toward the cynical Chad for guidance at the office and with women. However, his insecurities reveal an innately pathetic figure who wants to be able to exert power over someone defenseless. Realizing their mutual bitterness toward women, the two decide to make a disreputable pact to romance the same woman during their business trip only to dump her at the end. Enter Christine, a pretty office secretary who happens to be deaf. You can figure out the rest, but the way LaBute relentlessly reveals the characters' weaknesses, including Christine's, is piercingly honest to the point of painful. Even the twist at the end is well-justified, as LaBute's perceptive script makes the situation hauntingly cathartic.
In his first important role, Aaron Eckhardt, with his square jaw and cocksure manner, is superb as Chad, and it took him several years (probably until his heart-of-gold Hell's Angel in "Erin Brockovich") to recover from this impermeable persona. In fact, he tweaks it as the unapologetic tobacco lobbyist in this year's "Thank You for Smoking". As Howard, Matt Malloy certainly makes a most convincing dweeb, while Stacy Edwards (who is not deaf) elicits the right emotions with Christine, obviously the only sympathetic role in the movie. The DVD has two commentary tracks - the first with LaBute, Eckhardt and the crew, and the second with the three principals and again with Eckhardt. Both are quite insightful with the latter particularly entertaining for the contrast between the actors and the characters they play. Be forewarned that this is in no way a feel-good film, but it does make for seductive viewing.
Having just been dumped by his fiancée, Howard seems like the more benign of the two and looks toward the cynical Chad for guidance at the office and with women. However, his insecurities reveal an innately pathetic figure who wants to be able to exert power over someone defenseless. Realizing their mutual bitterness toward women, the two decide to make a disreputable pact to romance the same woman during their business trip only to dump her at the end. Enter Christine, a pretty office secretary who happens to be deaf. You can figure out the rest, but the way LaBute relentlessly reveals the characters' weaknesses, including Christine's, is piercingly honest to the point of painful. Even the twist at the end is well-justified, as LaBute's perceptive script makes the situation hauntingly cathartic.
In his first important role, Aaron Eckhardt, with his square jaw and cocksure manner, is superb as Chad, and it took him several years (probably until his heart-of-gold Hell's Angel in "Erin Brockovich") to recover from this impermeable persona. In fact, he tweaks it as the unapologetic tobacco lobbyist in this year's "Thank You for Smoking". As Howard, Matt Malloy certainly makes a most convincing dweeb, while Stacy Edwards (who is not deaf) elicits the right emotions with Christine, obviously the only sympathetic role in the movie. The DVD has two commentary tracks - the first with LaBute, Eckhardt and the crew, and the second with the three principals and again with Eckhardt. Both are quite insightful with the latter particularly entertaining for the contrast between the actors and the characters they play. Be forewarned that this is in no way a feel-good film, but it does make for seductive viewing.