Neil LaBute's 'In the Company of Men' runs very much like a stage production. In fact I was utterly shocked when I heard it wasn't based on one. It should have been, and I would go so far as to say it should be adapted into a stage production. The reason I say this is because the film relies on the dialogue, acting and character's emotions to move the storyline, and not action or explosions or nudity. Nope, 'In the Company of Men' is like a 90-minute play following three key characters. The first is Chad (Aaron Eckhart - in his feature film debut performance), a young, good-looking cocky businessman who's a crude and cruel misogynist. His partner/boss is also his best friend, Howard (Matt Maloy) a semi-geeky quiet guy who's very shy, especially around women. Distraught about their incredibly back luck with the ladies, the two decide to go through with a plan (initiated by the devilish Chad of course) to find a woman, both target her and trick her into loving both of them, then just leave her with nothing. Howard goes along with the plan with doubts, while Chad warm-fully embraces the idea. During a six-week business trip, Chad meets a beautiful, kind, understanding and affectionate office worker who happens to be deaf (Stacy Edwards) -- Chad's perfect mark for this plan. The rest of the film is pretty much Chad and Howard trying to score this chick and zeroing in on their torturous plan. It doesn't sound very interesting and entertaining, does it? A lot of the film drags, but I really liked it for three reasons -- the three main characters.
The characters in Neil LaBute's 'In the Company of Men' are miraculous -- the three are very detailed and the actors who play them are phenomenal. Malloy is great as the nervous sap that is Howard and Edwards is always a pleasure to watch, but Eckhart steals the show by a mile. Astounding doesn't even begin to describe young Aaron Eckhart's performance in this as the sadistic and menacing power-hungry creep, Chad, who makes Stalin look like 'Mickey Mouse'. Chad could be described as a socio-path in that he doesn't give two sh*ts about anyone except himself and sneers at the thought of helping anyone out. For me, Eckhart was 100% believable during the entire runtime of the feature and he does such a fantastic job of reeling you into his mindset -- in other words Eckhart should have received an Oscar nomination for his work in this. Like I mentioned prior, Neil LaBute's writing has it's ups and downs and some pacing problems, and his directing is nothing impressive in the slightest. I'd say after viewing 'In the Company of Men' I was more interested in the greatly talented actor Aaron Eckhart then I was the filmmaker, Neil LaBute.
In conclusion, I recommend this if you could enjoy and appreciate a film based solely on superb acting. If not, don't waste your time with 'In the Company of Men'. If you can fully appreciate acting at it's best, be sure to check it out. Grade: B
The characters in Neil LaBute's 'In the Company of Men' are miraculous -- the three are very detailed and the actors who play them are phenomenal. Malloy is great as the nervous sap that is Howard and Edwards is always a pleasure to watch, but Eckhart steals the show by a mile. Astounding doesn't even begin to describe young Aaron Eckhart's performance in this as the sadistic and menacing power-hungry creep, Chad, who makes Stalin look like 'Mickey Mouse'. Chad could be described as a socio-path in that he doesn't give two sh*ts about anyone except himself and sneers at the thought of helping anyone out. For me, Eckhart was 100% believable during the entire runtime of the feature and he does such a fantastic job of reeling you into his mindset -- in other words Eckhart should have received an Oscar nomination for his work in this. Like I mentioned prior, Neil LaBute's writing has it's ups and downs and some pacing problems, and his directing is nothing impressive in the slightest. I'd say after viewing 'In the Company of Men' I was more interested in the greatly talented actor Aaron Eckhart then I was the filmmaker, Neil LaBute.
In conclusion, I recommend this if you could enjoy and appreciate a film based solely on superb acting. If not, don't waste your time with 'In the Company of Men'. If you can fully appreciate acting at it's best, be sure to check it out. Grade: B