A Machiavellian Black Comedy

Last night Brad and I continued our pattern of watching a movie that he had never seen before and I thought was a must a must see. The selection was "In The Company of Men."

Here is another movie that when I watched it when I was younger I liked it but I did not get the same appreciation as an adult viewer. What at a terrific movie. I highly recommend it to all. Its not something that you might want to see over and over again but it definitely should be seen at least once.

The portrayal of the American businessman machismo is alluring and repelling at the same time. The viewer is disgusted by the mind games but drawn in by some anthropologic hunger to watch more. You feel sorry for the beta male character, Howard, but at the same time loathe him for his inability to separate himself from the preprogrammed moires of american capitalist masculinity.

The movie's crowning glory is Aaron Eckhart's performance as the ruthless and vicious Chad. What an amazingly despicable character. You have to give credit to the writer for this character because everything that is disgusting about this man is in his language. His tongue is far more forked than that of Shakespeare's most evil villain, Iago.

Some of my favorite quotes from the film are:

"You know if we were in India you could burn that fiance of yours on a pyre in the middle of the village square for what she did to you."
-Chad
"I get so used to saying what people want to hear I forget sometimes they might just want the truth."
-Howard
"Women. Nice ones, the most frigid of the race, it doesn't matter in the end. Inside they're all the same meat and gristle and hatred just simmering."
-Chad

And my very favorite is when Chad is in bed with his girlfriend at the end of the movie and he is feeling so self satisfied for destroying two peoples lives. His girlfriend said she heard voices in the other room but Chad says it was him practicing a presentation for work and he says to her, "You know me, once I get going working I can sound just about like anyone." Watch the movie and you'll see why that line is so great.