Though 2008 was a banner year for film with movies such asIron Man,The Dark Knight, andRevolutionary Roadhitting theaters, it also marked a period of uncertainty thanks to a number of factors — most notably the financial crisis that left many without a job or a clear picture of the future, no matter the industry. Hollywood wasn’t exempt from this; the financial crisis, along witha writers strike that affected many movies, hit the film industry with the force of a hurricane. Some filmmakers chose to explore the fallout from the financial crisis, the most compelling beingThe Company Men. It tracks the fallout via three employees played byBen Affleck,Tommy Lee Jones, andChris Cooper, who work at the same company, and how they choose to handle the news. What makesThe Company Meneven more impressive is that it’s the directorial debut ofJohn Wells.
Wells, at that point, was best known for his work on TV. He served as showrunner or writer on multiple dramas, includingThe West WingandShameless,but his crowning achievement wasER. The medical drama not only had a successful evolution from a feature film to a beloved TV series, but it helped launch the career of Hollywood titans includingGeorge Clooney.EReven broke ground by exploring the personal lives of its physicians as well as their passion to save lives, and it’s an element that influenced Wells' work onThe Company Men. Once again, he was working with an all-star cast and a setting that allowed him to explore human drama.
The Company Men
High-level executives are suddenly forced into unemployment due to corporate downsizing. As they navigate the challenges of job loss, they must reassess their priorities, confront their vulnerabilities, and adapt to a new reality.
What Is ‘The Company Men’ About?
The Company Menexplores theaftermath of the 2008 financial crisisas it hits Global Transportation Systems,with many of its workers being laid off. Among them is Bobby Walker (Affleck), a young up and comer who is left reeling; not only has he lost his job, but he has to factor his wife and children into the equation. The same fate befalls Phil Woodward (Cooper), who put 30 years worth of work into GTX and is cut off at the blink of an eye. Finally, GTX’s executive vice president Gene McClary (Jones) attempts to halt the downsizing despite the insistence of its CEO James Salinger (Craig T. Nelson) that the company needs to turn a profit by any means necessary. The bulk ofThe Company Menis dedicated to Walker, Woodward, and McClary navigating an uncertain future.
Ben Affleck Gives One of His Best Performances in ‘The Company Men’
The biggest strength ofThe Company Menis in the cast Wells assembles, withAffleck, Cooper, and Jones, all giving very layered and compelling performances.Each of their characters is in a different stage in life, and that affects their reaction to the financial crisis. Walker at first tries to play off the situation and tells his wife not to tell their kids about it, while continuing to spend money he doesn’t have on detailing his Porsche and going to the country club to perfect his golf game. Even worse is his reaction to job interviews; he outright insults one potential employer,and when he goes for outplacement, he leaves a series of verbally charged voicemails to his former boss.
What keeps Walker from sliding into outright despicable territory is Affleck’s performance. Behind all the bluster is a man who feels ashamed that he can’t provide for his family, and has to have some sense metaphorically knocked into him. Eventually,he starts working in constructionunder his brother-in-law, Jack Dolan (Kevin Costner). Jack is more of a “salt of the earth” guy who ribs Walker about his six-figure paycheck and fancy Porsche, but isn’t above slipping him an extra bit of cash to keep things afloat.
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Cooper’s performance as Woodward is the opposite and his desperation starts to break through almost immediately. Unlike Walker, who’s still in his prime, Woodward is in his 60s, and he knowsemployers aren’t looking at him as a prospect. A key example concerns his outplacement experience; while the outplacement counselor was encouraging Walker, she was more blunt with Woodward, telling him to color the gray in his hair and quit smoking so that he has a slight chance in the cutthroat job market. Eventually,Woodward dies by suicide, which not only makes a dark film even darker, but shows just how hopeless Woodward began to feel. He gave his life to his job, and he was cast aside with nary a thought.
Director John Wells Explores the Life-Work Balance in ‘The Company Men’
The Company Menalso let John Wells do what he does best:explore the contrast between characters' professional and personal lives. He utilized this to great effect inER, with Clooney’s Doug Ross going into pediatric medicinedue to his relationship with his estranged sonandNoah Wyle’s John Carter coming from wealth yet choosing to go into medicine to help others. (Life would imitate art whenWyle had to use his medical skills to save someone.) That continues inThe Company Men,especially where McClary is concerned. Throughout the film, McClary locks horns with Salinger over the layoffs, only to have things further complicated by the fact that the two are best friends and co-founded GTX together. McClary is also having an affair with co-worker Sally Wilcox (Maria Bello), which makes it all the more gutting when she winds up firing him. In exploring McClary’s flaws as well as his virtues, Wells crafts a compelling character drama that draws the audience’s attention, regardless of how familiar they are with the stock market.Withthe economy undergoing another rocky phase in recent years,The Company Men’s taken on even more relevancy.
The Company Menis available to watch on Prime Video in the U.S.
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