The Company Men (Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner, Chris Cooper)

[GreenScar]

Looks like a promising drama:

The Wenstein Co has released the first full length movie trailer for The Company Men , John Wells‘ feature directorial debut. Wells is best known for writing and producing hundreds of episodes of both ER and The West Wing. The movie tells the story of “three men trying to survive a round of corporate downsizing at a major company, and how that affects them, their families and communities over the course of one year.” The film stars Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner, Chris Cooper, Maria Bello, Craig T Nelson, and Rosemarie DeWitt. It’s also worth mentioning that eight-time Academy Award nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins shot the film.

The movie premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, where we filed a video review and interview with the director. I’d like to think of The Company Men as a spin-off from Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air. Imagine being able to see what happens to some of the characters that Ryan Bingham lays off while on his business trips as a corporate downsizing specialist. In Reitman’s film we see interviews and reenactments from recently laid off workers. The Company Men is their story. I’ve heard complaints that the story is very dry, and that the film isn’t very thrilling, but I don’t believe it should be. This is the reality of downsizing, and the depressing nature of our current economic situation. If a 30 year old sales manager can’t find a new job, how is someone older, a senior executive, supposed to survive once his company abandons him?

Watch the trailer by clicking the image above.


Here is the official synopsis:

The Company Men hits theaters on October 22nd, 2010

[vegeta88]

If nothing else, what a great ensemble! Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper are fantastic actors.

[tbizzle]

Killer cast, I'll definitely be seeing this one

[Sylentwolf]

Originally Posted by vegeta88

If nothing else, what a great ensemble! Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper are fantastic actors.

+1

[Holmes]

I'd give it **** (out of five). Review:

Reminiscent of Jason Reitman's fantastic Up in the Air, The Company Men concerns three businessmen, played by Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, and Tommy Lee Jones, who lose their jobs at GTX, a Boston-based transportation and shipbuilding firm. Affleck's Bobby Walker is a twelve-year veteran at GTX, earning an annual salary of $160,000 at the time of his termination. Jones' Gene McClary has been there since the beginning; in fact, he is the CEO's (Craig T. Nelson) close friend and former college roommate, though he is unable to hold his tongue when he disagrees with his friend's harsh leadership. Written and directed by John Wells, a former ER producer and show runner, this contemplative and gentle film explores these proud men's post-pink-slip lives. This is Wells' first feature film, and it is a rather auspicious debut. Reporting from the trenches, he captures the sense of precarious dread which defines corporate America in this era of recession.

Though it flirts with an ensemble narrative in the vein of Syriana, showing a corporation in flux from different perspectives, Ben Affleck's character is the undeniable protagonist. The audience follows Bobby Walker's troubled transition from confident and successful to rudderless and unemployed. We watch as he clings to and then relinquishes symbols of his past--his Porsche, his golf club membership--and as he endures an enthusiastic, but unhelpful seminar and its cringe-inducing mantras ("I will win!"). We then follow him as removes his well-tailored suit, bites down, and joins his blue-collar brother-in-law's (Kevin Costner, good-humored and well-utilized) small construction crew. Affleck delivers a touching performance, continuing his career-rejuvenating run of successful turns both in front of and behind the camera. Rosemarie DeWitt, so superb in Rachel Getting Married, lends unblemished support as his concerned wife.

Read the rest: http://www.worldofkj.com/article.php?i=87

[maverick22]

Why no talk of this movie? Looks great to me. Anyone buying it?

[Mandalorian]

Originally Posted by maverick22

Why no talk of this movie? Looks great to me. Anyone buying it?

It was good. i wouldn't say it's great, but definitely worth a watch. People only seem to care about action films around here... I'm kidding.