I have recently seen an excellent corporate drama – “The Company Men“. It’s not your average office romance or Wall Street con action. It is a film about people. People, who find themselves in the middle of crashing economy, like we experience now. And even though people in this film are a bit richer than average, they are still deeply affected.
In the beginning, I was a bit skeptical. I thought, it’s the poor people who suffer the most and who deserve the most attention. But soon I discovered that I was wrong. Not wrong maybe, but inaccurate. It is true that poor people are affected the most. But if you think about it for a moment – each and every one of us has a certain level of life, certain things that he values, certain wants and needs, certain little things. And when outside circumstances make you lose those things that you enjoy and value so much, you do feel depressed, disoriented, confused, and sometimes angry. And it doesn’t matter what those little things are – an extra pint of beer with friends, furniture in your house, or private jet flights.
One other important topic this film brings up is mutual respect and kindness. Certain types of connections are well exposed and explained. Support for local workforce, ethical business practices, corporate goals beyond pure financial benefits, are just some of the topics of this film.
What I particularly enjoyed, was how light the film felt despite all seriousness. I think a lot of it was due to brilliant cast and good acting. Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner – all make this movie so much better.
Overall, while this film doesn’t necessarily fit into my definition of masterpiece, I really enjoyed it and catch myself thinking a lot about it. That, in my book, is worth a 5 out of 5 rating. Strongly recommended.