IN THE COMPANY OF MEN
RATING: 6.5 / 10 --> So-so
Neil Labute's writing and directing debut
delves deep into the sickest and most inhumane part of men's
psychology, and comes out with an independent look at the twisted
head games that some degrading people could play, and the real
emotional consequences that are regurgitated upon all involved.
PLOT:
Two third-tier businessmen with a history of negative experiences
with women, decide to turn their 6-week stay at an out-of-town
corporate setting, into an opportunity to play an emotional head
game with an unsuspecting woman employee. They both agree to wine
her, dine her and romanticize her for the period of their stay,
up until the day on which they have to leave, at which time they
will both unceremoniously dump her, and laugh about it for years
to come.
CRITIQUE:
Interesting, original premise starts off with a slow burn, but
eventually challenges you into watching the screen without a
cringe, as the actors work their thespian chops, and the script
gets more involving as it moves along. I did however find the
cinematic style of this film to be quite distracting, as a lot of
shots were taken from long-view, and felt too symbolic and
impractical. I found myself waiting for the camera to zoom in on
the characters, rather than attempting to listen in closer to
their far-away conversations. That aside, the three main
characters had strong showings, with the character of Chad, as
played by Aaron Eckhart, rating the highest as the bastard with
the heart of ice. Eckhart looks like he chewed intothis part like
a rabid dog on a bloody bone.
This movie does not have any other side-stories to offer the viewer, and doesn't even recognize any real secondary characters either. The film is based solely on these three characters and the dysfunctional dynamic of their respective relationships. And despite my patience being tested during the film's initial slow build-up, I did find myself engrossed enough by the end of the film, to warrant a thumbs up in regards to character development. Having said that, I did find some of LaBute's writings manipulative and exaggerated just for the effect on its audience, but mostly interesting to watch. The conclusion left me satisfied to a point, but did not wholly resolve all of my reservations. It also felt a bit set up, and unbelievable in respect to Chad's destiny. All in all, the acting and the dialogue were good, the pace very slow, and the premise very original and brave to tackle.
Watch it with your buddies or your loved one, and try to figure out if you know anyone as disgusting as Chad in your life. If you do...you're in trouble!!
Little Known Facts about this film and its
stars:
In the press kit for this film, director LaBute described the
movie
thus, "It's a simple story: boys meet girl, boys crush girl,
boys
giggle." He apparently filmed the picture for a little under
US$25,000.
Despite playing a deaf woman in this film, actress Stacy Edwards
is not
deaf in real life. She was born in Glasgow, Montana, the daughter
of an
Air Force officer, and grew up all over the world, from Guam to
Alabama. At 18, she received a scholarship to the Lou Conte Dance
Studio in Chicago and began her performance career as a dancer
and
actress. She is married to actor Eddie Bowz, and currently stars
as Dr.
Lisa Caterra on TV's "Chicago Hope".
Originally from Northern California, Aaron Eckhart was a college
friend
of director Neil LaBute's at Brigham Young University where he
appeared
in several of LaBute's plays.
Review Date: December 27, 1998
Director: Neil LaBute
Writer: Neil LaBute
Producers: Mark Archer and Stephen Pevner
Actors: Aaron Eckhart as Chad
Stacy Edwards as Christine
Matt Maloy as Howard
Genre: Drama
Year of Release: 1997
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(c) 1998 Berge Garabedian