THE COMPANY MEN (2010) ¢ ¢ 1/2
D: John Wells
Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, Tommy Lee Jones,
Maria Bello, Kevin Costner, Rosemarie DeWitt
I always thought the George Clooney movie "Up In the Air" should've ended with Clooney's character being fired by Anna Kendrick, the young go-getter he'd trained. Something like that does happen in "The Company Men", with Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper and Tommy Lee Jones playing executives at various levels on the corporate food chain, all let go in the name of efficiency, but in reality as part of a scheme to drive up the value of the company's stock. It's the Great Recession hitting home for the men with the six-figure incomes and lifestyles to match. There are no surprises in it at all, but Jones and Cooper effectively capture the anguish of men whose best working years have gone to a system that's throwing them away, and Kevin Costner does what amounts to a movie-star disappearing act with a supporting role as Affleck's crotchety, blue-collar brother-in-law. The most wrenching moments in "Up In the Air" weren't focused on Kendrick or Clooney, but on the point-blank testimony of real people who had lost their jobs. Getting downsized is grim at any income level, but somehow it's harder to sympathize with a guy in a tailored suit who's behind on his country club dues and facing the loss of his Porsche.
