In the Company of Men

Rating:
Summary: Searing, sobering, unforgettable
Review: There is a chilling scene in this brilliant film in which a misogynistic man, after having pretended to fall in love with a frail, deaf woman and finally coldly told her the truth, says to her, "So how does it make you feel inside at this moment, knowing what you do? It hurts that much? Then I guess I must be going; the deed is done." You may notice that during this cruel psychological assault, the deaf woman at one point looks away from him, and (thankfully) may not have heard all he has said to her. But that's beside the point. The psychological assault is targeted at US. The movie is asking us, how does THAT make us feel inside.

The triumph of the movie (apart from being made by first-time writer-director Neil LaBute with only a $25,000 budget) is that it unrelentingly confronts us with the most callous and apathetic of human behavior and makes us think about OUR behavior in the real world. It paints a frightening picture of moral decay, relational malaise, emotional backruptcy that is increasingly common in our society at large.

Rating:
Summary: TWO FACED
Review: I was furious after I watched this film. Furious and frightened by the idea that there are really people in the world like Chad, the main character embodied perfectly by actor Aaron Eckhart. Chad is the consummate pretender. He concocts devious schemes against his friend, colleague, and immediate superior, Howard. Howard blindly trusts Chad while Chad entreats Howard to join him in a game of ruining someone's life. Chad confesses to Howard that his wife has left him, and Howard commiserates that his fiancée recently left him as well. In their women-hating phase, Chad suggests that they should, together, begin pursuing the most wallflowerish, unpopular woman they can find (they are going to a city they do not live in for a business trip) and both of them eagerly pursue her. Eventually they meet a deaf office typist, played well by Stacy Edwards, and they both pursue her fervently. Howard is rather nerdish and is uncomfortable with the whole arrangement. Eventually Howard truly falls in love with her. She falls in love with Chad. Howard goes crazy at some point and finally tells her that Chad orchestrated the whole thing just so they could both break her heart. She confronts Chad, and he simply laughs. Throughout the film you will be horrified by Chad's heartless and misogynistic commentary and his downright misanthropic attitude in every aspect of his life. The end, naturally, is unhappy. This is a bitter commentary on humanity, really, and very worth your time.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating psychological portraits
Review: This movie paints a compelling and complex portrait of three vastly different characters. Other reviewers have written about the plot, so I won't bore you by repeating what's already been said. Suffice to say that it is fascinating to watch how each person behaves in this situation. The sweet deaf secretary who is at first so shy and unsure of herself, but who blossoms thanks to the attentions of two suiters and -- ultimately -- is disgusted and crushed by the truth. Then the beta male, the guy who isn't really quite cut out for the cut-throat nature of the business world or of such a nasty competition. And finally, the alpha male, the orchestrator, whose strategic mind and utter lack of compassion allows him to flourish in his competitive world. A good movie, and well worth watching.

Rating:
Summary: Repugnant and unbelievable
Review: Words fail me in attempting to describe just how poor a movie In the Company of Men is. Aside from obvious flaws like the lack of a single compelling or sympathetic character, Men suffers from amateurish acting, a painfully bad script devoid of any wit or insight, and a frighteningly shallow and stilted portrait of men and male behavior. As bad a movie as you are likely to find anywhere.

Rating:
Summary: Horrible DVD Quality
Review: This is a great movie, but the DVD transfer is the worst I've ever seen. It looks like a copy of a copy of a copy of an ancient videotape. The VHS version is sharp and crisp, but this DVD looks like you're watching the film under water. Moreover, the audio commentary is mindless and boring. Stay far away.

Rating:
Summary: Bashed Men Behaving Badly
Review: Heading through an airport on their way to a six-week work assignment, two junior executives in an unspecified business discover that they have both been dumped by their girlfriends. After commiserating about the heartlessness of women, the studlier of the pair (Eckhart) suggests, "Let's hurt somebody."

His proposal: While in the unnamed town, where they're headed for business, they find some vulnerable young woman and both begin to court her. They will sweep her off her feet and then, just before leaving town, each will dump her. "It'll be a little payback on all this messy relationship stuff we're dealing with," Eckhart explains. His colleague (Malloy), though a step above Eckhart on the corporate ladder and therefore supposedly wiser, readily agrees to this sordid scenario.

Their plan becomes even more repugnant when they zero in on a potential target: a lovely deaf secretary (Edwards). And so goes this most chilling film. In the Company of Men, an impressive debut movie by writer-director Neil LaBute, is a provocative look at male gamesmanship that raises as many questions about its characters as it answers.

After seeing Men (which deservedly was named best dramatic film by La Bute's fellow filmmakers at Sundance Film Festival), either you will stay up half the night discussing it, or you will find the story so profoundly disturbing that you will feel too wrung out to talk about it at all.

Men features strong performances by its trio of relative newcomers, particularly Eckhart, whose potent leading-man charm proves all the more disturbing when it becomes clear what a manipulatively malevolent knave he is and just who his real target is. And Edwards (TV's Santa Barbara), who is not deaf in real life, is both radiant and heartbreaking as a woman who blossoms under the sudden attention of two seemingly ardent swains.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful Film From Neil LaBute
Review: A film that reads like an essay on how to get ahead by laying waste to everyone and everything in one's path, while giving no quarter and taking no prisoners, "In The Company Of Men," written and directed by Neil LaBute, is a starkly brutal movie that examines the darkest side of the human condition and the depths of evil to which an individual is capable of descending without knowing remorse. Chad (Aaron Eckhart) and Howard (Matt Malloy) are business associates, ten years out of university (they attended the same school), and are about to embark on a six week special assignment in another city for their company. As they wait to board their plane, Howard reveals to Chad that his girlfriend has just dumped him; aboard the plane, Chad shares with Howard that his girlfriend has just dumped him as well, in a quite insensitive manner, at that. No warning, no note, just one day- gone- end of story. Chad muses to Howard that things seem to be getting out of hand; women have the upper hand in relationships, and even worse, seemingly in the workplace, too (not to mention the competition from the younger guys coming up and already snapping at their heels, career wise). "You can't even tell a joke in the workplace anymore," he tells him. And it's time to do something about it. Toward that end, Chad hatches a scheme through which they can get back on top and "regain their dignity." And for the rest of their lives, no matter how bad their relationships go or what "they" do to them at work, they'll always have this one thing, something that's worse than anything anyone will ever have done to them. At first Howard isn't sure, because it's so "out there," but Chad sells him on the idea, and they go to work. Their plan is to do it over the next six weeks, then it's over and they're on their way home. Back on top. Forever. So begins what can only be called a study in abject cruelty and humiliation and, moreover, of a sick mind that in many ways is more telling than anything gleaned from movies such as "The Silence Of The Lambs," or "The Cell." What's so unsettling is the fact that Chad is so "normal;" the young, clean-cut, charismatic all-American role model type, and to discover that such a person is capable of such unconscionable behavior is enough to awaken the paranoia in even the most jaded observer. The mere concept of Chad's scheme is so despicable even to contemplate, that to see it actually played out becomes almost unbearable at times to keep watching. But you can't help yourself; LaBute's deft handling of his own material makes it so engrossing that you simply can't look away. He takes you right down the path to where he wants you, and knows exactly which buttons to push along the way to keep you there. Even against your own will. Aaron Eckhart gives a remarkable, almost chilling, performance as Chad; to be able to create such a loathsome character, someone who can evoke such utter contempt, bespeaks his ability as an actor. This is a guy you will not soon forget, and may make you think twice about more than a few casual acquaintances and co-workers, while wondering if things or people are ever actually as they seem. That Chad is someone with whom you can so readily identify (at least on the surface), makes this brush with him all the more disquieting. To have to acknowledge his perverse power over others is even more so. As ultimately one of the pawns in Chad's game, Matt Malloy gives a good performance as Howard, but it's a character for whom it is hard to muster much sympathy. The most notable performance in the film, however, is turned in by Stacy Edwards (Christine). It's a tough part, and she plays it to perfection with just the right touches of strength and vulnerability that gain her the empathy of the audience while making her an entirely sympathetic and memorable character. A hard-hitting drama punctuated with a driving score (that is especially effective during the transitions of the passing weeks), "In The Company Of Men" will get your adrenaline pumping and make your blood boil at the same time. It's a sad commentary on society, but a wake-up call with a moral just the same. It's a case of acquainting oneself with ugliness, that one may then recognize and appreciate true beauty. Be forewarned, this is a movie that will get under your skin; but at the same time, it's going to make you know you're alive. You may not like it, but you're definitely going to feel it.

Rating:
Summary: Men or Mice?
Review: Should have been entitled "In the company of Nerds." Enough said!

Rating:
Summary: Uncomfortable, but worth it
Review: This is a deceptive tale from the corporate jungle. Chad (Aaron Eckhart) is a virile, handsome middle level manager capable of some charm. However he doesn't relate to other people the way most people do. He has some superficial tricks for getting close. He tells women he likes the way they smell. He knows they love that. He bonds with men by appealing to their prejudices. He tells sexist jokes: "What's the difference between a golf ball and a G-spot?" Answer: "I can spend twenty minutes looking for a golf ball." He likes to get close to people to use and exploit them. But he goes further than that. He likes to hurt them. Why? "Because I can," he says.

In other words, Chad's a sociopath who specializes in humiliating people. He gets a black worker to expose himself. He says he needs to see if he really has the stuff to be recommended for a promotion. He tells him, the guy who wins is the guy who has "the nastiest sack of venom." In case the guy doesn't know he's been humiliated, as he pulls up his pants, Chad tells him to get him a cup of coffee, black.

Christine (Stacy Edwards) is a pretty girl in her twenties, a lightning fast typist in the secretarial pool. She's very nice and caring. Problem is she's deaf and talks funny. Chad spots her and decides she is perfect for this little game of broken hearts he wants to play with Howard (Matt Malloy), his slightly nerdy friend, co-worker and sometime boss. We'll both date her, he says, and then dump her. That way we'll get back at all the women who have done us dirt. He has an ulterior motive as well. He wants to destroy Howard, just to prove he can.

What makes this film work is the sheer brutality of Chad's bloodless methods, and Director Neil LaBute's suffocating depiction of predatory life in the corporate structure. LaBute, who also wrote the script, is uncompromising in his desire to make us see that people are animals. He succeeds.

Rating:
Summary: Pulls No Punches
Review: When I saw this film, it was like getting bludgeoned over the head with a sledgehammer. After reading several critical reviews suggesting that is was a film about "angry, white males", I anticipated a dark comedy. Dark yes, comedy no. Unfortunately, I think they missed the point. Could this film have worked if the roles were reversed?... Possibly, as was the case in "Disclosure". With the nihilism of Corporate America serving as a backdrop, the film explores the dark side of human affairs and is a stark meditation on psychopathy. Eckhart's character (Chad) is the most memorable and disturbing. His portrayal of the subtle nature of evil, while not all that unfamiliar, is nonetheless gripping (leaves you with that feeling you get when you unexpectedly cross paths with a rattlesnake). Never a dull moment in this one, as the strength of the film lies in the dialogue. Viewer beware, no happy ending here, as this film pulls no punches!