The Company Men

Movie: The Company Men

Cast:    Ben Affleck                 (Bobby Walker)

            Rosemarie DeWitt       (Maggie Walker)

            Tommy Lee Jones       (Gene McClary)

            Chris Cooper              (Phil Woodward)

            Maria Bello                 (Sally Wilcox)

            Craig T. Nelson           (James Salinger)

            Kevin Costner             (Jack Dolan)

Genre: Drama

Synopsis: James Salinger, CEO of the conglomerate GTX, is willing to do whatever it takes to make his company’s bottom line look better to investors. Gene McClary is a senior VP who has been with Salinger since they were roommates in college.  Sally Wilcox is the person who does the firing as massive layoffs begin.  Among the first to be laid off from his $160,000 a year job is Bobby Walker. After 12 years with the company, Bobby gets no advance notice of his firing.  He does get 12 weeks severance pay.  Bobby is shell-shocked and takes a long time before the reality of his situation sinks in.  His wife, Maggie, understands the severity of the situation, but has a hard time getting him to face the facts.  They eventually have to move in with his parents while Bobby goes to work for Maggie’s brother, Jack Dolan – a carpenter doing a house renovation.  The next round of layoffs gets Phil Woodward, who is even less prepared than Bobby.

The movie follows the different ways in which these newly jobless men deal with their plight.  It also examines the corporate culture that is so willing to both pay exorbitant salaries and so equally willing to heartlessly fire these same executives. No one is safe from the ax in this corporate world.

My two cents: A great movie.  To anyone working for a large corporation, I suspect this movie would be classified as a horror movie.  I personally never had to unemployment; but the idea of being jobless – especially with a family to support – scared the living daylights out of me (at least until I retired).

I have always believed that Ben Affleck is a much better actor than most critics seem to be willing to credit him.  I think his performance in this movie may serve to silence at least some of them.  I thought he did a fabulous job of capturing the arrogance of the upwardly mobile highly paid mid-manager.  It was fascinating to watch his character sink lower and lower until he hit rock bottom – moving in with his parents and being a gofer for his brother-in-law.

I thought Rosemarie DeWitt was also great in portraying the loving wife who was more grounded than her husband, wanting to support him while at the same time lighting a fire under his butt.

And then there was good old Tommy Lee Jones.  Tommy has yet to disappoint me.  He was the one honest and ethical beacon of hope in the top management of the company.  He has a great soliloquy in which he describes the problem of corporate America being obsessed not with actually making things, but with balance sheets.

 

Don’t expect to leave this movie laughing, but do expect to leave with a lot to think about.

I found Roger Ebert’s review to be particularly interesting for this movie:

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110119/REVIEWS/110119984/0/FILMFESTIVALS06

[23]

The Illusionist

Movie: The Illusionist

Genre: Animated

Synopsis: This takes place in 1959.  The Illusionist is a rather elegant aging magician who excels at slight-of-hand tricks.  The problem is that there is just no longer much of a demand for his type of show.  While playing at a pub in Scotland he meets a young girl named Alice.  She is enthralled by him and he takes a fatherly interest in her.  When he leaves, she goes with him. The movie follows them as he tries to provide for her from his ever decreasing income while she is getting her first taste of city life.

My two cents: The best word I have come across (courtesy of Roger Ebert) to describe the emotion this movie produced is melancholy.  The old man just cannot seem to catch a break.  I enjoyed the movie, but was often scratching my head in puzzlement.  There is very little dialogue.  About half of what little there is seemed to be just mumbling.  The rest seemed to be a mix of French and English and something I did not recognize.  The music was as much responsible for generating my feeling of melancholy as the movie.

The movie has a really interesting background.  I would suggest reading Roger Ebert’s rather extensive review at: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110112/REVIEWS/110119994

Bottom line: this movie is not for everyone, but if you don’t mind some slow-moving, sweetly melancholy animation with some nice, but equally melancholy music - give this a try.

[22]

The Way Back

Movie: The Way Back

Cast:    Ed Harris         (Mr. Smith)

            Jim Sturgess    (Janusz)

Genre: Drama

Synopsis: The movie is supposed to be based a real-life prison escape.  A group of prisoners in a Soviet gulag in Siberia escaped in 1940.  Among them was an American known only as Mr. Smith and a Polish prisoner named Janusz.  The conditions in the gulag and in the mine these prisoners worked in were brutal; but the conditions into which they escaped were no less brutal.  As Janusz said, at least they could die as free men. Janusz was the only one with any real survival skills.  They survive a truly brutal Siberian winter as they try to make it to the Soviet-Mongolian border.  Ultimatley, Janusz leads the survivors across the Himalayas to freedom in India.

My two cents: According to IMDB, there is evidence that the author of the memoirs upon which the movie is based did not actually make the journey himself; but rather wrote about the exploits of some other prisoners.  In any case this was a pretty good movie. They conditions these men survived are beyond belief.  At times I would catch myself thinking that the writers had made the script a little too unbelievable – until I remembered that this journey actually happened.

Maybe not the best date movie, but worth seeing.

[21]

No Strings Attached

Movie: No Strings Attached

Cast:    Natalie Portman          (Emma)

            Ashton Kutcher          (Adam)

Genre: Romantic comedy

Synopsis: Emma and Adam first met 15 years ago at summer camp.  They meet up again when Adam is on the rebound from a girl (who is now dating his father) and Emma has her M.D. and is interning at a hospital.  Emma has an aversion to personal relationships, but discovers she enjoys sex with Adam.  She proposes that they be “friends with benefits”.  Naturally, one of them breaks the deal by falling in love.

My two cents: I normally do not care much for Ashton Kutcher’s movie characters.  By the end of the movie, I actually liked his Adam character.  There was some nice off-beat humor.  Kevin Kline was great as Adam’s famous actor father. Natalie Portman was great, as always.

This movie will probably not be up for a lot of awards, but I found it to be entertaining with a nice ending.

[20]

The Heart Specialist

Movie: The Heart Specialist

Cast:    Wood Harris   (Dr. Sidney Zachary)

            Brian J. White (Dr. Ray Howard)

            Zoe Saldana    (Donna)

Genre: comedy, drama

Synopsis: Dr. Ray Howard is a first year intern with a bit of a swelled head because he is a Harvard grad. The actor, Brian J. White) plays Marcus in Men of a Certain Age.  If you are familiar with that series, just think of Dr. Howard as being Marcus with an M.D.  Dr. Sidney Zachary is the senior resident.  He has a hobby on the side where he does stand-up comedy.  His partner is a nurse, Donna.

The movie follows the two doctors as Dr, Zachary tries to break through the icy emotionless wall Dr, Howard presents to the world.

My two cents: This movie was much better than I expected.  How to say this without sounding racist . . . the movie’s lead characters were all black, but the movie was really written in a color-blind way.  The roles could easily have been played by whites or Asians or anyone with very little changes needed to the dialogue.  All three of the leads played their parts very well.

Bottom line: a pretty decent movie.

[18]

Another Year

Movie: Another Year

Cast:    Jim Broadbent             (Tom)

            Ruth Sheen                 (Gerri)

            Lesley Manville           (Mary)

            Oliver Maltman           (Joe)

Genre: comedy, drama

Synopsis: Tom and Gerri probably in their 60’s, have been married forever and are extraordinarily happy.  Tom is a geological engineer and Gerri is a mental health counselor.  Mary (40-something) is a secretary who has worked with Gerri for 20 years.  They have a son, Joe, who is single and 30 years old.  The thing with Tom and Gerri (yes, I thought of the cartoon every time I heard their names together) is that they are so happy together and so comfortable in their relationship and are basically really good people.  They have extraordinary patience with and love for their friends.  Friends who are not anywhere near as happy as Tom and Gerri.

The movie follows the couples interactions with friends and family during all four seasons of the year.  In “Spring”, Tom and Gerri invite Mary over for dinner and we learn that she has a tendency to drink too much. We also learn that although she tries to put on a show of being happy, she is desperately lonely.  We also see a hint that she may have a thing for their son, Joe.

During the other three seasons we meet a horribly unhappy friend of Tom’s, Joe’s new girlfriend (much to the dismay of Mary), Tom’s newly widowed older brother and his brother’s unpleasant son. We also see the “fun” Mary has when she becomes a car owner.

The movie seems to be as much about Mary and her unhappiness as it is about Tom and Gerri’s love for each other.

My two cents: A truly fabulous movie.  About a third of the way in, I found the movie was causing me to relax.  I never did figure out exactly why it had this effect.  I have seen Jim Broadbent before, but the rest of the cast was new to me.  They all did a great job.

If you want a lot of action and yelling and screaming, this is not for you.  If you want to see a great slice-of-life covering a year in the life of a loving couple, this is the movie for you.  I keep talking about how loving they are. . .  but the writers and director get this across without a lot of emotional displays or sappy scenes.  Very good writing here.  The feeling it engendered in me is similar to what I get when I watch an episode of the old Andy of Mayberry.  Not a lot happens, I laugh and chuckle a lot – and I feel a lot better after watching it.

[17]