Sundance 2010: Crowd reaction to ‘The Company Men’
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Combining a respectable pedigree and crowd-pleasing stars, it seemed that ‘The Company Men,’ a film highlighting the effects of downsizing on families and communities, directed by John Wells and starring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Kevin Costner, would be a slam dunk at the Sundance Film Festival. And you’d be mostly right among those who stopped for reactions.
Many had lots to say, but far fewer on camera. The majority of the festgoers who saw ‘The Company Men’s’ premiere on Friday night had similar praise for the film’s premise, highlighting a depressed economy, and generally praised the casting and acting.
The dissenting voices also praised the film’s straight-on approach to an issue affecting many Americans, but descriptions like ‘no energy’ and ‘indulgent’ were used more than once. But even among them, many could not say that the film was ‘bad,’ just that it didn’t quite make them jump out of their seats. More than a few compared it to ‘Up in the Air,’ with the George Clooney film coming out on top. As you may expect, very few wanted to actually be on camera saying that they didn’t enjoy the film much.
Though he may be a bit biased, the film’s Joe Doman -- who played Dep. Comm. for Operations William A. Rawls on ‘The Wire’ -- gave his quick assessment of how he thought the crowd received the film.
-- Jevon Phillips
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