THE COMPANY MEN

Almost everyone was forced to tighten their belts during the Global Financial Crisis. Many lost their homes, their jobs, their livelihoods. In The Company Men, writer/director John Wells (ER, The West Wing) explores the recession’s impact on a group within the social pecking order for whom there is usually no love lost – overpaid corporate hotshots drunk on the material excess of the proverbial American dream. Ben Affleck (The Town, Gone Baby Gone) continues his career-resurgence as Bobby Walker – a smug white collar worker who struggles through the extremely emasculating experience of being laid off during corporate downsizing. On paper the role is unsympathetic, but thanks to Affleck’s simmering, intuitive performance, viewers will warm to Bobby as he recalibrates his priorities, refocuses on his family and rediscovers his inner ‘everyman’. The film’s core message about the pitfalls of affluence and status is powerful. Unfortunately, Wells dedicates too much screen time to the moral and financial crises faced by Bobby’s co-workers (Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper) ̶ these subplots, although exceptionally well-acted, feel perfunctory, and only serve to distract from Bobby’s gripping story. Kevin Costner, Maria Bello and Rosemarie Dewitt co-star. Overall, issues with narrative focus are trumped by an abundance of charm, humour and pathos. (JH) ***1/2