A Family Man (2016)

A headhunter whose life revolves around closing deals in a survival-of-the-fittest boiler room, battles his top rival for control of their job placement company -- his dream of owning the company clashing with the needs of his family.

Director:

Mark Williams

Writer:

Bill Dubuque

Stars:

Alison Brie, Gerard Butler, Willem Dafoe

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Alison Brie	...	Lynn Vogel
Gerard Butler	...	Dane Jensen
Willem Dafoe	...	Ed Blackridge
Gretchen Mol	...	Elise Jensen
Dustin Milligan	...	Sumner
Alfred Molina	...	Lou Wheeler
Kathleen Munroe	...	Toni
Maxwell Jenkins	...	Ryan Jensen
Mimi Kuzyk	...	Bernadine
Anupam Kher	...	Dr. Savraj Singh
Mayko Nguyen	...	Teacher
Julia Butters	...	Lauren Jensen
Stephen Bogaert	...	HR Manager
Dwain Murphy	...	Antoine
Tim Hopper	...	Tommy

Storyline

As the boss (Willem Dafoe) of a Chicago-based headhunter, Dane Jensen (Gerard Butler), who works at the Blackridge Recruiting agency arranging jobs for engineers, prepares to retire, Jensen vies to achieve his longtime goal of taking over the company going head-to-head with his ambitious rival, Lynn Vogel (Alison Brie). However, Dane's 10-year-old son, Ryan (Maxwell Jenkins), is suddenly diagnosed with cancer and his professional priorities at work and personal priorities at home begin to clash with one another.

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Taglines:

What are you working for?

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexual content

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 July 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Family Man

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

G-BASE, Zero Gravity Management

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The sequential timeline of this movie's writing ; planning ; and creation took place over the course of Six (6) years as: The screen play was written in November 2012 by screen play writer Bill Dubuque ; three (3) years later it was then announced On September 2, 2015 that Gerard Butler would both star and executive produce the family packed drama with film producer Alan Siegel and also the films own debut director Mark Williams ; Voltage Pictures then of which came on board to handle the international sales for the film; Principle photography was filmed in December 2015 and additional photography was filmed from early 2016 to mid 2016 ; the movie was then screened at the September 2016 International Film Festival in Toronto Canada; then Distribution for the film took all the way from mid 2016 to early 2017 ; and then finally the film was slapped with a theater date of July 28th 2017.

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Quotes

Lou Wheeler: All families got problems but you only got one.

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Connections

References The Godfather: Part II (1974)

User Reviews

Touching and Extremely Well Written

Magic stirs men's blood. Sunlight streams down on father and son with closed eyes and outstretched arms in downtown Chicago, and their spirits surge. Corporate headhunter Dane Jensen, the father in this scene, needs such magic. Equal parts charming and ruthless, Dane is on the verge of taking over the company that employs him. At the same time, his young son Ryan is diagnosed with a life- threatening illness. Channeling some inner darkness of lies and deceptions has always provided Dane with an edge against competitors inside as well as outside the company, yet that is not what his family needs now. In fact, they've never needed it. No one does. If Dane ever realizes this, it may come too late.

This well written and touching film explores what it means to be a family provider. It takes heart as much as strength, and empathy as much as confidence. The excellent script is written by a former headhunter; it takes one to know one. The film is full of delightful twists and turns, and it goes to unexpected and fascinating places. Part of the magic that stirs Dane's blood, for example, comes from seeing the city and life through the wonder filled eyes of Ryan. The cast, including Gerard Butler as Dane and Willem Dafoe as Dane's boss, is wonderful.