Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The Company Men



















While watching The Company Men (2010) directed by John Wells, I kept wondering, will this show us anything we don't already know? Corporations have callous tendencies, and there's an almost random nature to decision-making. Corporations put profit above all else. Short-term planning above long-term. Mergers and acquisitions. Layoffs. Obscene stock option profits for top investors and CEOs. Organizations grow so large they can't help but be hijacked and comandeered by new brean-counters and "soulless ghouls" (in the words of Tony Gallaher) who replace the original entrepreneurial spark with grim accounting methods. Megacorporations are more interested in pushing money around than making real things. Involuntarily losing one's job sucks and it's hard -- and for some, damned near impossible -- to find a new one.

Bottom line: The Company Men doesn't go deep enough and offers nothing new, but might still make you cringe. Easier alternative: look around and pay attention, create your own storylines.  

Kevin Costner is particularly good. The rest are professional, though maybe just a little contrived in feel: Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Maria Bello, Rosemarie DeWitt, Eamonn Walker, Craig T. Nelson. Set in and around Boston, with a side trip to Chicago, starting in 2008.

Today's Rune: Gateway. 

3 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

I want to see this. We've got ourselves into some serious straits in the US from the way we've given corporations their heads.

Anonymous said...

Corporations are "people" but seem to disappear when there is a question of their ethics, honesty,morality, "its not me the individual, its the company and its system". No one is ever responsible for thir actions at he top level.

jodi said...

Erik, Good grief, I talk about business enough at my house to probably not like this movie. I need an escape from reality!