The Company Men (2010)

- My life ended, and nobody noticed. 

That is, in my opinion, one of the most intense moments of the movie “The Company Men” (2010). Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) is completely lost in his feelings against his former employer, the GTX company. Previously a successful CEO, Phil faces the difficulties of a middle-aged man in pursuit of a job, after being fired by them to whom he dedicated his whole career. His story could be enough to develop a complete plot, but there is much more in this movie. The main character is not him: the movie focuses on Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck), a 37-year-old executive who also looses his job during one of the several downsizing waves that affected GTX. It was really a pleasure to follow his adventures, his relationship with his brother-in-law Jack (Kevin Costner), with his ex-boss Gene (Tommy Lee Jones) and, of course, with his wife Maggie (Rosemarie DeWitt).

“The Company Men” happens after the American 2008 crisis. Well succeeded businessmen fight for a new job, desperate to afford their mortgages, household expenses and, of course, some luxury, so common in times of abundance, and so precious for those who got used to them. Bobby Walker has to deal with these matters. He’s got two kids to nurture, a house to pay, a fancy new car and some other debts... He’s got at his side, however, his wife, whose constant support is crucial to his survival (poetically and literally speaking...). This a really nice movie, which I recommend for several reasons.

First, “The Company Men” approaches this brave new world of bonuses, stock markets, profits, leveraging and, well, bankruptcy... It stays at the labours’ side, so to speak, but if you consider the point of the big investors and capitalists, well, you will probably agree with them too, and show them some respect, afterall, they built those mega-companies from scratch... Anyway, this is a intriguing theme for our days, and probably the starting point for many discussions about the way we think about local and global economics.

Another strong topic of this movie is the relation that people have with their jobs, their careers and what comes together. How far do we go when putting our hearts to our jobs? Are we taking the best measures? Are we balancing our lives in a reasonable way? What would happen to me if I suddenly felt unable to work in the way I consider necessary to show my value? What would be my reaction? Nice topics for consideration.

It’s also interesting to observe how men and women react in so different ways when confronted with privation and hard times. There are, of course, tons of exceptions, but go to a bar during a Sunday morning. How many grown men drinking to exhaustion... It’s common to read and talk about depression and its prevalence among women. Well, that’s probably because women seek for help and do their jobs... Men usually behave like kids in so many occasions... That’s also a bright subject that arises when you watch this movie.

Well, I’m not here to write a synopsis. I would like just to bring some thoughts together, and, of course, recommend this movie!

Rogerio Maciel

August, 2011