In The Company Of Men
with Aaron Eckhart, Matt Malloy, Stacy Edwards
Written and Directed by Neil LaBute (Sony Pictures Classics)
by Sam Ames
WARNING! In The Company Of Men is NOT a date movie! Especially a FIRST date movie. It will most likely open a Pandora’s box of pestilence, send plagues upon your evening, and make your first date your last date. Guys: if you take an unfamiliar date to this, you are stupid or like jumping out of planes. You can kiss all hopes good-bye. You will get nothing. Not a kiss, not even a handshake, and maybe plenty of dirty soul-searching looks.
Women: Beware of any man who says he identifies with this movie. Be afraid! Change your locks, phone number, and address if necessary. Consider the Peace Corps. This is how charged the movie is; it’s great, it’s original, but it presents issues that cannot be pleasantly discussed, especially on dates. But who knows? It could actually be useful because there are no concrete absolutes in dating strategy, even though books like The Rules and Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus would have you think so. If a romantic evening for you is debating about misogyny, the nature of men, and what is male and what is machismo, then you have picked the right tinder box. Besides, if used corrrectly, this flick could help you find out a lot about a date through their opinions. Either way, you have been warned.
The story focuses on the exploits of two men who are on a six week business trip in another city. They agree to play a little game in order to even the score with womankind who has been less than kind to them in their relationships. Aaron Eckhart plays Chad, a dashing square-jawed corporate type who is as hateful as he is charismatic. He is the archetype of the type A Alpha male. “Never lose control… that is the total key to the universe” he tells his diminutive partner Howard, played by Matt Malloy. He suggests they find “some cornfed bitch who would mess her pants if you sharpened a pencil for her;” someone who is “disfigured..vulnerable as hell” and thinks that her “[love]life is lost to her forever.” They would then romance her, wine her, dine her, then dump her… hard. In Chad’s mind, shattering this woman’s world would “restore a little dignity to [their] lives,” because no matter how many misfortunes life or the female gender dishes out in the future, they’ll be able to take solace in knowing that they came out on top just this once. The wholesome twistedness of this plot grabs you in the first ten minutes and keeps you glued the same way the schemes of a mad scientist bent on world destruction rivets you. Either way, you have no idea what will happen.
Their target turns out to be an attractive deaf temp secretary named Christine, played by Stacy Edwards. Her helplessness makes her the perfect candidate. Chad attacks the task with the enthusiasm of a warped woodsman about to run over Bambi with a bulldozer. Howard is less gung-ho, but plays along and goes out on a few dates with her. Conflicts arise when the men show that they might have feelings for her. This is more true with Howard, who seems to make a big effort over her; he apologizes when late and even learns some sign language. However, they both carefully guard their true feelings for her from each other, and agree to keep going with the plan. This sets up a strong ending which is as original as it is unexpected.
The strength of the film is the smart script and talented cast. Director Neil Labute proves anything is possible with these two ingredients. The movie looks like it was shot on a nothing budget. The cast is tiny and the aesthetics few, but this enables the viewer to focus on the changing relationships between all three characters as the movie progresses. Malloy beautifully plays the wimpy Howard as the sidekick without the guts to stand up for what he wants. You kind of feel sorry for him, but these feelings pass in the face of all the chances he has to do things differently. Stacy Edwards is great. She works hard to show a sweet and vulnerable woman, but avoids wallowing her in victimhood, instead making her a survivor. She pays attention to the details, and even masters the voice of a deaf person.
The grand prize goes to Eckhart whose performance drives the film. He plays Chad for what he is: a complex festering ball of hatred thinly disguised as overt misogyny. “Women… the nice ones or the frigid ones, it doesn’t matter… Inside they’re all the same… Meat and gristle and hatred just simmering.” This statement is more self-descriptive than anything. His falseness is diabolically entertaining. He tells Christine “I want to nurture [our relationship] and see us blossom” then compares conversation with her to talking with Flipper. He manages to relieve the audience from his bile by finding some comic elements in his character. What he says is appalling, but the way he says it is funny. In one scene, while hanging out with some coworkers, he goes through the company picture book and announces his hatred of almost everyone. “Ohh, I hate that guy… I hate him too… This one’s a real prick.” etc. etc.
In The Company Of Men makes one think of the status of men in movies these days. After decades of John Wayne types, it’s time for a change in the way males are characterized. The males in this movie are different and refreshing, but definitely not much better. It is definitely a bad time for realistic male roles. Hollywood seems to have a confused sense of what male dignity is. It is either Joe and Jim Corporate abusing a deaf person to fight back or unemployed steel workers stripping to gain some self respect. Meanwhile, GI Jane is kicking ass. It would be nice to see some well-rounded male roles that use machoness as a tool and not a religion, that use that extra Y chromosome to take care of business without machine-gunning a roomful of people or running around the Highlands in a kilt killing Englishmen. Just a thought. All in all, In The Company Of Men is worth seeing. Just don’t expect breezy conversation about its themes and meaning over dinner.
