It's difficult to feel intense sympathy for the American business executives made redundant during the financial meltdown.
Writer-director John Wells, the creative force behind ER and The West Wing, attempts to circumvent this problem with a starry cast which includes Ben Affleck as the super-confident Bobby, who has been with his vast manufacturing conglomerate for 12 years, and Tommy Lee Jones (Gene) and Chris Cooper (Phil) as older veterans deeply traumatised by the fact that they are now surplus to requirements.
Bobby is clearly living beyond his means and refuses to tell anyone except his wife (Rosemarie DeWitt) that he's been fired, ending up as a bad builder in a struggling firm owned by his brother (Kevin Costner). Gene tries to start up a firm staffed by similar rejects, unwisely using his American Express card, and Phil seeks solace from his spendthrift wife with a younger woman (Maria Bello).
Wells, whose first feature this is, knows how to shape a movie but it still seems a little like a superior piece of television, adorned by a posse of very watchable stars.
The Company Men
Cert: 15
