Review of The Company Men (2010) by Darryl G — 20 Jun 2011

3: This was probably the scariest film I've seen of late. It seemed to me to confirm all my worst fears, which inevitably revolve around the inevitable decline of America. I've had almost no experience with the kind of loss experienced in this film, apart from the drop, and subsequent increase, in net worth I've experienced over the past couple years.

I have to say that I don't feel confident in our system, our way of life, or our place in the world though, which is what this picture touches upon. The flaw in the film for me is the relatively upbeat ending, which essentially indicates we must start over and do more with less.

Can we? I would say no, we have indeed outlasted our place in the sun. There are of course still places enough for the elite, seemingly more so now than at any time before, but in the end practically everyone is out for themselves.

I haven't seen nearly enough films about the so-called Great Recession, but I'm sure this will be remedied in the future. I can't get over the feeling that, being in the military, I am somehow insulated from this decline, but I suppose it's possible this will be altered in the future.

I hope not, but again, this is, at it's core, a very selfish thought. The fact that there is an alternate ending for the picture cuts right to the heart of its flaws. There could have been no alternate ending for the Coen Brother's True Grit, which I viewed just before this.