The Company Men

"In America, we give our lives to our jobs. It's time to take them back."

2010 1h 44m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 832

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Bobby Walker lives the proverbial American dream: great job, beautiful family, shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing leaves him and two co-workers jobless, the three men are forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands and fathers.

“In America, we give our lives to our jobs. It's time to take them back.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Ben Affleck
Bobby Walker
Tommy Lee Jones
Gene McClary
Chris Cooper
Phil Woodward
Kevin Costner
Jack Dolan
Maria Bello
Sally Wilcox
Rosemarie DeWitt
Maggie Walker
Craig T. Nelson
Salinger
Eamonn Walker
Danny

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Wells
Writers: John Wells
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 33% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 16 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Wells, shot by Roger Deakins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Aaron Zigman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Frazen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ben Affleck and Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "In America, we give our lives to our jobs. It's time to take them back.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1172991 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Wells directs. Roger Deakins behind the camera. Aaron Zigman scores. Robert Frazen cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 33% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 16 years ago.
3Directed by John Wells, shot by Roger Deakins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Aaron Zigman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Robert Frazen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Ben Affleck and Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "In America, we give our lives to our jobs. It's time to take them back.".
8IMDB entry: tt1172991 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Roger Deakins
Original score: Aaron Zigman
Editing: Robert Frazen
Production design: David J. Bomba
Costume design: Lyn Paolo
Makeup / hair: Trish Seeney
Sound: Tim LeBlanc
Stunt coordinator: Jeffrey Lee Gibson
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $15,000,000
Box office: $4,882,577
Return: 33% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Company Men (2010)

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John Wells

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Andres Gomez2014-11-27
★ 7/10
The story is quite flat and stereotypical. No ups and downs. Everything goes as expected and, of course, we have a hopeful positive ending for the needs of the US viewer. The cast is impressive and direction, cut and performances are OK.
The Movie Diorama2020-01-17
★ 6/10
The Company Men calmly reflects a recessive economic climate through a downsizing company. Financial stability is the sole craving in everyone’s life. The upper class. The middle class. Every class. The notion to which one will never encounter the fear of losing their personal possessions and their career position. Corporate employees specifically seek the solidity in their salaries, to be able to provide for their own pride and families. When the economic recession devastated the States last decade, its impact was critical. Innocent workers essentially lost their lives, driving themselves into the descent of debt. Wells’ well-intentioned drama explores the collapse of a shipbuilding corporation, following various employees that have been made redundant and/or steering the metaphoric sinking ship. It’s an off-beat peculiarity that forces Wells’ direction to be enticing and inadvertently unappealing simultaneously. The characters themselves, particularly Marketing VP Walker, HR Manager Wilcox and CEO Salinger, are insufferably narcissistic. Walker especially who envelops himself in pride, given the immense financial loss he encounters that prevents him from fully supporting his family and being able to play at luxurious golf club houses. The response to his firing, whilst natural in the sense that he refuses to release the life that he leads, abnormally thinks more about himself than his family. The overwhelming aura of egotism, not just from him, constrains these characters to be unlikeable. Yet the peculiarity in Wells’ execution is that, despite the vehement behaviour, there’s a sympathetic undertone throughout. Not because you relate to the characters, but the scenario instead. Wells delicately leaves several moments to hang, simmering on a bed of dismissal, that forces you to position yourself in the characters’ shoes. With that in mind, he manages to transform the unappealing characteristics of these employees and turn them into tolerable motives. Slowly but surely, through enduring perseverance, opportunities are tackled. And that’s exactly the purpose of The Company Men. It illustrates the tenacity of the human spirit during uncertain times. The orienteering session being a prime example of depicting this motive. Anyone who has been in a situation such as redundancy will relate to this film for its situational representation, not for its characters. That’s no criticism on the acting though, as each performance is competently given without resorting to melodrama. Cooper in particular gave a nuanced and credible performance, that left his character’s fate somewhat unpredictable. My main issue however is the scope of The Company Men. Instead of focussing on just one employee, Wells’ decided to explore the entirety of GTX’s corporate ladder. Whilst harmless for its narrative structure, it did downplay the severity of the recession. Almost making light of the national economic declination. Solely following one employee through this hard time would’ve produced greater character development whilst also tackling the recession from each angle. Wells’ intentions were clear, just didn’t entirely work for me on an emotional level. Fortunately Deakins’ cinematography consistently entranced with his beautiful autumnal shots, but that’s not surprising let’s be honest. Much like precariously balancing on the corporate tightrope, The Company Men occasionally stumbles with its peculiar narrative and character choices yet seemingly gets the job done with assured performances and a heartfelt motive. Remember, remain positive even in the darkest of moments.