In the Company of Men . Tucson Weekly . 09-22-97

In the Company of Men

DIRECTED BY: Neil LaBute

REVIEWED: 09-22-97

This terse, low-budget feature by first-time director Neil LaBute presents a hyperbolic, deeply creepy vision of American manhood. Chad (Aaron Eckhart) and Howard (Michael Martin), two corporate ladder-climbers, coldly decide to woo, bed, and ditch a beautiful, vulnerable deaf woman to obtain a kind of blanket payback for every woman who's ever hurt them. As David Mamet's spirit chuckles in the background, LaBute shows us a nasty, competitive, male-dominated world that thrives on cruelty--or at least hides it really well. Chad and Howard exist in a misogynistic whirl, as they try to find someone to blame for the fact that the world hasn't given them everything they believe they've been promised. LaBute shows us more than we want to see about how aggression, competition and romance blur together in one ugly blob in this sick, old-boy company--and he does it from a sly, satirical vantage point that allows him to criticize that culture at the same time. Special bonus note: In this movie, someone is always eating a sandwich.

--Richter

Full Length Reviews
In the Company of Men
In the Company of Men
In the Company of Men
In the Company of Men
In the Company of Men

Capsule Reviews
In the Company of Men
In the Company of Men

Other Films by Neil LaBute
Your Friends and Neighbors

Film Vault Suggested Links
Windhorse
Dead Man Walking
Blue Collar

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