Written by Neil LaBute
Directed by Neil LaBute

Just watch the feeds on Twitter, Threads, Facebook, or any social media from women.  It seems that almost daily there are posts lamenting or lambasting the opposite sex for transgressions real and imagined, major and minuscule.  The battle of the sexes has been going on for a long time and will continue to go on until the human race erases itself from the planet.

Writer and Director Neil LaBute takes the ongoing struggle of who’s right and who’s wrong and takes it to perhaps its lowest point in In The Company of Men.  The film actually transforms itself several times as to what it actually is.  Is it a film about the emotional wounds men sustain as well as women? Is it about the vulnerability many of us have at various times in our lives? Or is it all really about the power struggles we all face in life and how some have learned to capitalize on them?

Aaron Eckhart and Matt Malloy are Chad and Howie, two mid-level executives who are feeling the pinch.  There are younger employees just out of college nipping at their heels.  At the same time, they are feeling displaced by those above them, particularly the women in their corporation.  Their animosity toward the opposite sex is made clear in the opening segment which takes place as they are waiting to board a plane to their next assignment.

Both are fresh off of break-ups.  Chad proposes that they set out to find a vulnerable woman who they can build up over the course of six weeks, and then dump her and destroy her to the point of suicide and get a laugh out of it.  Howie seems to be the type who normally would not consider such a thing.  His reaction to Chad’s proposal is tepid at best.  However, between the raw, fresh wounds of his recent break-up as well as the cajoling and camaraderie from Chad, he ends up agreeing.

Christine (portrayed by Stacy Edwards) is a typist in the office and a bit of a recluse.  Chad learns that she is deaf, making her all the more vulnerable and isolated.  He sees in her the perfect subject for his and Howie’s project.

Right from the beginning, Chad is derogatory about her behind her back.  He mocks how she tries to form words and make conversations while in the bathroom with Howie.  He emphasizes her faults over and over, repeating the fact that her saliva bubbles as she tries to form the words to talk.

Howie is reluctant at first, but soon he is enjoying the game almost as much as Chad.  Chad does seem to show a human side at times as he reflects that there are moments they are together when he can see himself with her and that he sees something more in her.  It was at this point I found myself rooting for the story to take a different turn and for Chad and Howie to redeem themselves.  However, all those real feelings being bandied about doesn’t mean Chad’s ready to call off the game, nor does it mean he’s anything more than a damn fine actor who’s fooled just about everyone.

The acting is stellar.  Aaron Eckhart is a terrific actor, both as an actor and as an actor in the corporate world.  He makes all the facets of Chad believable and it’s easy to see why everyone is taken in by him as he’s playing everyone for their vulnerabilities.  He portrays Chad as one of those people with the inane sense to hone in on the vulnerabilities people have and exploit them for his own personal gain.  He seems to have no conscience about anything and doesn’t show any remorse for anything that happens throughout the film.  Eckhart does this terrifically.  His blond, boyish good looks serve him well while at the same time, the chiseled features harden him a bit allowing his appearance to be cold and calculating.

Malloy is great as well.  Howie is trying to run with the big boys while in reality, he’s just as vulnerable as Christine.  He allows Chad to push him around mainly because he feels that this will lead to acceptance.  This is despite the fact that for all intents and purposes, he is Chad’s boss coming into the film.  Malloy is terrific in the role with Howie coming across as someone who might be different under other circumstances, but here follows the popular guy into a situation that won’t end well for him.

Stacy Edwards was fantastic as the subject of their experiment.  She had me fooled as I honestly believed they used a hearing-impaired actress who happened to fit the role well.  This is not the case.  She’s an actress who has frequently done guest-starring roles in popular shows but has somehow missed out on having that breakthrough role.  How she missed out on that with Christine is beyond me as she conveys the self-resilience and isolation the character feels in her non-hearing world.  She’s sympathetic all the way through the film as I watched and knew what was coming.  At the same time, she seemed to be the one person who could possibly redeem these men and didn’t come across as this holier-than-thou character.  It’s really a tremendous balancing act that she manages to carry quite well.

The DVD doesn’t have many extras, but there are two commentary tracks.  One is with the three central actors, LaBute, and Producer Stephen Pevner.  The other is with only Eckhart among the actors and other members of the crew.  These were pretty interesting to listen to as commentary tracks go although nothing spectacular.

In The Company of Men is a pretty cruel film, right up there with Cruel Intentions and other movies where the lead characters get their jollies tearing others down.  I found myself wanting  Chad and Howie to see the error of their ways.  Had this been a studio production, that likely would have been the case.  With this being an independent film, the story moves along to the ending that is the most logical, if not the most satisfying.  It’s an indictment not of men, but of the culture in the business world that prides people climbing the ladder with little to no concern for the damage that is done on the way up.  It’s categorized as a comedy, but I don’t see it that way.  Instead, it’s a sad commentary on what we’ve come to value as a society.