Ben Affleck does a fine job of playing a man without one in a compulsive cautionary tale for would-be Trumps and Gekkos.
Wells knows how to extract the goods from a great cast, but it's in service of a somewhat mundane story. Still, it'll make you think about the imbalance in the business world, even if the arguments and consequences are nothing all that revolutionary.
It feels like an American TV show - straightforward and accessible but inclined to broad generalisations and a surface gloss that makes even building sites look bright and shiny.
It entertains, it engages, it leaves the brain empty after use.
Ben Affleck shines in this otherwise middling drama about the impact of the recession on middle management America.
So unusual and so compelling.
A sober and sobering picture.
I don't think anyone will mistake The Company Men for a great movie, but it has greatness in it.
You couldn't ask for a better cast but The Company Men's star rating gets downsized to a mere three thanks to the fact it's hard to care about the fate of its central character, Bobby, whose privations including having to sell his Porsche and cancelling his golf club subs.
The film gets us on side with a thoughtful, if sentimental, examination of what it takes to find dignity in tough times.
There are moments of insight and melancholy in this stellar soap opera but it isn’t exactly Arthur Miller and the glib, sentimental ending feels like a bit of a cop-out.
Earnest but downbeat.
When a film is trying to get us angry about corporate greed, it shouldn't be as mild and reassuring as this.
A serious, schematic, well-acted film about adjusting to new lifestyles in a changing world.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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