It's rare for a film where nobody dies and there's virtually no physical violence - barely even of a hint of it - to inspire so much upset on the part of viewers.
In the Company of Men, director Neil LaBute's first feature, accomplishes this, impressing many and angering more than a few along the way. This is a powerfully disturbing film about sexism, cruelty and the price you pay for making a pact with the devil.
Chad (Aaron Eckhart) is a young executive, macho to the hilt and fed up with the way women are ruining his world. He's smart, cut-throat, deceptive and mean. His motto is, "Never lose control."
Howard (Matt Malloy) is a co-worker and old college chum of Chad's. He's a bumbler who's feeling burned by his last relationship, and he's just malleable enough to go along with Chad.
And there's Christine (Stacy Edwards), a hearing-impaired young woman who has the misfortune to work in the office that Chad and Howard have been sent to for a six week project. She's their target - the planned victim of a cruel manipulation.
These three dominate In the Company of Men. Except for one outrageous scene where Chad humiliates a young office worker, no other characters are significant.
Chad's plan was to find a vulnerable woman. He and Howard would each start a relationship with her. Since they were only in town for six weeks, they could go all out, and then simultaneously dump her. The purpose: simply to hurt her and rebuild their male 'dignity.'
This is a slim, tightly wound film. It's about one man's hatred, another's stupidity and complicity, and a woman who's in the wrong place at the wrong time.
In the Company of Men is not easy to sit through. It's a brutally honest portrayal of the hatred that lies within some of us. It's disturbing, powerful and worthwhile.
