Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Saga of Chad, October 8, 2000
Why is Chad so frightening? Because Society is full of Chads. Around every corner there is some version of Chad: a cruel, unscrupulous, good-looking, highly intelligent person along his lines, who will not only NOT get what's coming to him, but through guile, hypocrisy and ruthlessness rise and devour. In addition, elements of Chad exist in almost everyone, male or female, which if given a chance to operate without personal cost, will always tend to assert themselves to RULE and EXPLOIT the weak. In a Hollywood movie Chad would've ended up ruined for his evil deeds while the Hollywood Chads behind the scenes collected a fat profit laughing their heads off at the naivete of the public. In LaButte's Indie film Chad gets it all, beautiful woman, position and sadistic kicks without any personal cost whatever. "In the Company of Men" is not a 'great' film by any means, but an especially important one nevertheless. LaButte and Eckhart's fully realized `white collar' villain commemorates, for easier identification, the readily sensed but rather vague `evil techniques' of countless Chad-type predators throughout society. Future victims of Chads now possess a secret weapon; and not only that, the Chadlike elements present within every person will, for anyone who has seen this film, find it harder to assert themselves without complex and ever more evasive rationalizations.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Frightening and disturbing, January 10, 2006
This film is so frightening because one can imagine these things actually happening. I needed to watch the film twice before I got it all. Basically, two corporate men decide to date a wallflower for six weeks and then dump her, breaking her heart in the most cruel way, essentially getting revenge on all of womankind for past wrongs. In this case, the wallflower is a deaf girl who is a typist in a very bleak corporate office the two men are sent to work in for six weeks. This film is so cleverly written that there were moments (the first time I watched it) when I felt that Chad (the handsome one) was actually falling for this poor girl but at the end, and then on the second viewing, I realized that he was just planting the idea that he might really have feelings for this girl in his co-worker's mind in order to manipulate him (that would be Howard - the less handsome one). Making Howard believe that he might really have feelings for this deaf woman only made her more desirable (to Howard) - male competition in play. I also felt that he was trying to undermine Howard's authority as his boss because of his jealousy - needing to sabotage that aspect as well. Though some elements of the film are cliche (the girl falls for the good-looking one of course, then the nerdy one has a breakdown), these things, again, actually happen in real life (I know a lot of women who would choose a macho handsome guy over a sensitive nerdy guy just on looks alone - the same as a man picking a beautiful woman with a so-so personality over an average-looking woman who is really smart). Though most viewers feel really bad for this woman, she actually played her own game by dating both men simultaneously even after telling Chad that she loved him. She reasons that after not dating for a long time, she liked the attention - it made her feel attractive again. Some people feel bad for Howard but really, he wasn't in love with this girl either though he may have thought so - it was just beating Chad (and being on the rebound) that drove his competitive side to move forward so aggressively. I mean, after dating her for a few weeks, he gives her a used engagement ring and then freaks out telling her that it was all a game when she rejects him. If he really loved and wanted her, he would have tried to protect her from the truth (instead, he uses it as a weapon against her almost as if he is punishing her for the way his former fiance treated him. It seemed to me that he was subconsciouly getting revenge on his former fiance through this woman - that she had in essence become the fiance that rejected him and so the game actually did what it set out to do). Theories like "what goes around comes around" don't apply here and the most disturbing thing about this movie is the reality that what goes around doesn't always come around especially in Chad's case - that he lies, plots, schemes and destroys with no repercussions. In the end, he goes home to his beautiful apartment, his beautiful girlfriend, his great job and everything is as it ever was. And sadly, that's real life.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not for everyone..., March 25, 2003
There's a reason that "In the Company of Men", a low budget independent film, the first from writer-director Neil Labute, won an award at the Sundance Film Festival. The reason is not that it is an enjoyable film, but rather that LaBute demonstrates what so few filmmakers are willing to achieve: that film can be art, and not everybody is supposed to understand or like what you are saying. LaBute captures the self-absorption and resulting cruelty that EVERY alpha male raised in a fraternal corporate environment ever subscribed to - all roled into the unforgettable character of Chad. Using his persuasive skills to get his boss, Howard (Matt Malloy) to go along in this exercise of cruelty, Chad plays the game to the max. Along the way the audience gets the feel for the impersonable, alien corporate environment and good old boy atmosphere so recognizable in the U.S. Chad is portrayed instinctively by young actor Aaron Eckhart, who has traveled with LaBute through this and all subsequent films, sometimes in minor character roles. Eckhart and LaBute obviously have their pacing and teamwork together - Eckhart portrays Chad effortlessly! LaBute should be congratulated for not allowing "the happy ending", instead twisting his conclusion to find yet another villainous side of Chad. The DVD is dark, with few special features, and since almost all of the film takes place indoors (an early LaBute signature), the darkness of the tale is heightened by the appearance of the film. Striking out as a writer/director with a "different voice" (ala John Sayles) LaBute made his mark with "In the Company of Men" - and it is a fascinating study for serious film watchers.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
