IN THE COMPANY OF MEN
A film review by Andrew Hicks
Copyright 1997 Andrew Hicks / Fatboy Productions
(1997) *** (out of four)
As moviegoers, we've become accustomed to certain rules -- bad behavior is punished, the good guy gets the girl in the end and everyone is happy. Very few movies dare break the formula and fewer still flip the bird to everything we'd expect in a movie. IN THE COMPANY OF MEN does, presenting a protagonist who announces his evil plan toward the beginning of the film, carries it out over the next hour or so and then gets away with it in the end. It is not a feel-good movie.
The protagonist, Chad (Aaron Eckhart), is a corporate employee sent to another city for six weeks on a project. During a night of drinking, he convinces his associate and friend Howard (Matt Malloy) to play a game with him. It will grant them both the satisfaction of getting back at the opposite sex for all the cruel breakups, indecipherable behavior and never picking up a check. What they will do is romance the same woman for six weeks, bombard her with attention and affection, then pull the rug out from under her and retreat to their hometown, confidence fully regained.
The plan reeks of pure, heartless evil, which Chad personifies. His social exchanges are all governed by a falsity and ass-kissing most people can't seem to see through, including Howard, when he agrees to the plan. Chad picks a shy office assistant named Christine (Stacy Edwards) because she's deaf and desperate; we can sense this woman's insecurity right off, in the self-conscious way she wears headphones to disguise her hearing. She needs a good man, but falls hard for the wrong one.
Howard, meanwhile, begins his part of the game and takes her out a few times. It's clear before too long that he's taken the predictable romantic comedy road -- intending to scam her but falling in love for real. A studio movie would have had Howard punch out Chad, to cheers from the audience, and embrace Christine as some upbeat pop song played over the end credits. IN THE COMPANY OF MEN is no studio movie, and develops very differently. The Hollywood ending would have been more enjoyable, but false, and for once the filmmakers' refusal to compromise has brought us a far more fascinating film.
This is definitely a high-quality, well-thought-out film, but that's what keeps me from loving it. It's too depressing; there's absolutely no satisfaction to be had here. What we do get is characterization that rings painfully true to life -- we all know people like Chad who play everyone for their own cruel purposes. Consider, for example, what he makes his intern do. And we all know gullible people like Howard, who obviously doesn't want to participate in the scheme until he is talked into it by his "friend," and Christine, who becomes a victim because someone else has been hurt in the past. As written and directed by Neil LaBute, IN THE COMPANY OF MEN is the ultimate anti-date movie.
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