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The Company You Keep (2013)
Robert Redford, Shia Labeouf, Julie Christie, Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte, Anna Kendrick, Terrence Howard, Sam Elliott, Richard Jenkins, Stanley Tucci, Chris Cooper. Directed by Robert Redford.
Sharon Solarz (Susan Sarandon) is ready to turn herself in. She’s wanted by the FBI for her part in a Weather Underground bank robbery thirty years ago and for the murder of one of the bank’s security guards. When police pick her up, a local reporter named Ben Shepard (Shia Labeouf) does some follow-up, and is soon on the trail of Solarz’s accomplices, one of whom seems to be Jim Grant (Robert Redford), a local attorney known for defending social-consciousness-type cases. Grant feels the noose tightening, so he takes off, leaving a young daughter with his brother and heading across the country to hook up with other former Weather Underground members who might know the whereabouts of the woman who can provide his alibi in The Company You Keep.
It’s something of a chase movie, with Grant staying one step ahead of the law and Shepard trying to stay one step ahead of him. There is a little bit of moralizing, especially toward the end, where characters ask themselves whether they were right to use violence to further their 1960s-conflicted cause. Redford tries to play up the media angle, too, using his character almost to dare Shephard to exercise some journalistic scruples rather than go for the big story and mess up a few innocent people’s lives even while exposing some senior citizens who did crazy things in their youth.
One thing I like about this film is its levels of introspection. Shepard sees for himself how his pursuit of the truth might injure some innocent people he doesn’t have any connections with, but he doesn’t seem to expect that it will alienate him from former girlfriends as well. This is really the most interesting aspect of the story, but Redford doesn’t flesh this out quite enough. He gives it a good try in the third act, looking Shepard right in the eye and asking him what the journalist’s insides look like, but we see it all in a kind of detached manner, never really getting to see Shepard think about the consequences of his actions.
There is much more of that kind of thing between Redford and Julie Christie, who plays that former partner in crime he’s in pursuit of. Not only has she not mellowed in her convictions, but she continues to defy the government by smuggling what appears to be marijuana by boat. If there was collateral damage in the Underground’s efforts to stop the war, it is nothing compared to the collateral damage done by the government in waging that war. Grant insists things aren’t so simple, and he points to one victim they both know who has been affected by their activities even though she doesn’t know the first thing about them.
It’s an interesting mix of cat-and-mouse with moral-dilemma. Labeouf is in his good-actor mode, but it is the senior cast that really makes this a movie to see. Redford is still move-star gorgeous and a darned good actor, and the others (especially Richard Jenkins, who really stands out for me) are all excellent. ‘Though I feel the script gets a little weak near the end, it’s still a pretty rewarding movie.
7/10 (IMDb rating)
77/100 (Criticker rating)
Robert Redford, Shia Labeouf, Julie Christie, Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte, Anna Kendrick, Terrence Howard, Sam Elliott, Richard Jenkins, Stanley Tucci, Chris Cooper. Directed by Robert Redford.
Sharon Solarz (Susan Sarandon) is ready to turn herself in. She’s wanted by the FBI for her part in a Weather Underground bank robbery thirty years ago and for the murder of one of the bank’s security guards. When police pick her up, a local reporter named Ben Shepard (Shia Labeouf) does some follow-up, and is soon on the trail of Solarz’s accomplices, one of whom seems to be Jim Grant (Robert Redford), a local attorney known for defending social-consciousness-type cases. Grant feels the noose tightening, so he takes off, leaving a young daughter with his brother and heading across the country to hook up with other former Weather Underground members who might know the whereabouts of the woman who can provide his alibi in The Company You Keep.
It’s something of a chase movie, with Grant staying one step ahead of the law and Shepard trying to stay one step ahead of him. There is a little bit of moralizing, especially toward the end, where characters ask themselves whether they were right to use violence to further their 1960s-conflicted cause. Redford tries to play up the media angle, too, using his character almost to dare Shephard to exercise some journalistic scruples rather than go for the big story and mess up a few innocent people’s lives even while exposing some senior citizens who did crazy things in their youth.
One thing I like about this film is its levels of introspection. Shepard sees for himself how his pursuit of the truth might injure some innocent people he doesn’t have any connections with, but he doesn’t seem to expect that it will alienate him from former girlfriends as well. This is really the most interesting aspect of the story, but Redford doesn’t flesh this out quite enough. He gives it a good try in the third act, looking Shepard right in the eye and asking him what the journalist’s insides look like, but we see it all in a kind of detached manner, never really getting to see Shepard think about the consequences of his actions.
There is much more of that kind of thing between Redford and Julie Christie, who plays that former partner in crime he’s in pursuit of. Not only has she not mellowed in her convictions, but she continues to defy the government by smuggling what appears to be marijuana by boat. If there was collateral damage in the Underground’s efforts to stop the war, it is nothing compared to the collateral damage done by the government in waging that war. Grant insists things aren’t so simple, and he points to one victim they both know who has been affected by their activities even though she doesn’t know the first thing about them.
It’s an interesting mix of cat-and-mouse with moral-dilemma. Labeouf is in his good-actor mode, but it is the senior cast that really makes this a movie to see. Redford is still move-star gorgeous and a darned good actor, and the others (especially Richard Jenkins, who really stands out for me) are all excellent. ‘Though I feel the script gets a little weak near the end, it’s still a pretty rewarding movie.
7/10 (IMDb rating)
77/100 (Criticker rating)