MOVIE REVIEW | The Company Men

The 2010 film "The Company Men" stars Tommy Lee Jones, Ben Affleck, and Chris Cooper, with a minor role by Kevin Costner. This is a film about three people who had worked for a long time at a large company and led a peaceful and prosperous life after they were fired as a part of restructuring during the 2007 financial crisis. The social position of others was criticized for being high-income earners different from the general public. However, I think it is not correct to criticize unconditionally because the pain experienced after dismissal cannot be objective whether you are a high-income earner or not.

Gene (Tommy Lee Jones) is a founding member and CFO of the company. Bobby ( Ben Affleck ) is a talented and recognized sales team leader, and Phil (Chris Cooper) has been with Gene for decades, serving as general manager in key departments. What started as a small shipyard several decades ago has grown into a strong company that has become a multinational group, but when the economy deteriorates rapidly, they are all fired. Gene, as a founding member, has many stock options, so there is nothing to worry about right now. He has the 'mental' leeway to be able to tolerate the spending of a luxurious wife to some extent, and to maintain an affair without his wife's knowledge. state. However, Phil cannot overcome his disappointment and bewilderment as he sees his wife, who has been ill for a long time, worries about his daughter having to pay the IVY League tuition, and sees himself falling in an instant, and eventually commits suicide.

Bobby, who was the head of the sales team, was the head of a family with growing children and a lot of expenses, and his lifestyle was quite large. He spent a lot of money on home loans and luxury car leases, so it would be difficult to survive for a month or two. In the end, I try to find a job of the same level here and there, but every time I fail and get discouraged, I end up reaching the bottom of my frustration. As the days go by, I get to the point where I am thinking about whether I should sell the house, even at a bargain price, as soon as possible to pay off the loan and move to my parents' house as soon as possible. One day nearing the passing of such a beautiful home and wonderful car, and with many moving houses ahead, Maggie, the wife of a very frustrated husband, gives a very encouraging word:

Bobby: There's thousands of new MBAs out there. No mortgage, no kids. Work 90 hour work weeks, for nothing. You want honesty, Maggie? I'm a 37 year old unemployed loser, who can't support his family.
Maggie: OK, look. You are gonna find a job. Working for people who know how lucky they are to have you.
Bobby: When did it all go to shit?
Maggie: It hasn't turned to shit. You have Drew and Carson. Your parents, and me. You have me.

Bobby regains strength and begins to search for a job. But in the end, he gets a part-time job for a small construction company run by his wife's brother (Kevin Costner). It is here that you learn very deeply about the importance of life, work, and family. I have time to play backyard basketball with my son, whom I haven't been able to get close to because I'm busy, and I have a closer relationship with my wife, and I get to be close again with relatives who have been distant because of me, who was always bubbly. About a year after being fired, Gene gets an offer to work with, but Bobby is reluctant to do it - perhaps the sweat and honesty of hard work and honest money. In the end, Bobby accepts Gene's offer and takes on a new job based on the abandoned shipyard site.

I think it's a very good film that depicts the months or years that anyone can go through with a layoff and the months or years that follow. In particular, the process that Bobby goes through is highlighted. A person who was on the fast track to success suddenly becomes unemployed, the sense of deprivation and alienation experienced while preparing for the job provided by the company, and the relationships between family members who have not been cared for. , I think that it depicts realistically and step by step the pressure that tightens financially every day.

After a harsh year, Bobby has a strong foundation for a comeback and carefully forges a strong relationship with his execution. It's also beautiful to thank the executioner for taking the losses to hire him and his co-workers. He said that he got a new job, but he even said that he wanted to work with the executioner. Bobby's monologue in that scene is very impressive:

"I will win. Why? Because I have faith, courage, and enthusiasm!
(I win. Why? Because I have faith, courage and passion!)"

Director Wayne Wang said that a good movie is a movie that makes you look back while watching it, right? I wasn't fired for my job, but I've been through things like the first scene in this movie, and some like the second scene. Each person's degree is different, but if you haven't experienced these two things properly, what would life mean to you now? Have you come to know the lightness and the heaviness of life? Did you know the insignificance of the material world through experience? And did you have confidence in yourself that is not bragging or arrogant, but has a true reality and a well-founded confidence? makes you think.

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