(USA, 121 min.)
Dir. Robert Redford, Writ. Lem Dobbs
Starring: Robert Redford, Shia LaBeouf, Julie Christie,
Terrence Howard, Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte, Chris Cooper, Stanley Tucci,
Richard Jenkins, Anna Kendrick, Jackie Evancho.
Living in hiding must tucker a man out. Thirty years in the
shadows, watching one’s back and keeping an eye on the rear-view mirror must
become tiresome. At some point, the man living in secret is bound to become
restless and want to move forward. He’ll run, run, run without looking back.
Cue Redford’s seasoned runner. Hiding in Albany, New York
under the alias Jim Grant, Nick Sloane has established a successful life as a
father and lawyer. A colleague from the Underground approaches him to take
Sharon’s case, but Jim/Nick declines, citing his widower status and young
daughter as reasons not to re-enter the spotlight.
Sharon’s actions prompt another visitor to take an interest
in Jim Grant. A young reporter, Ben Shepard (Shia LaBeouf), gets wind that
Sharon sought Jim’s help in her case. Ben starts nosing into Jim’s past,
despite Jim’s adamant refusal to say much, and he uncovers Jim’s double life.
One headline puts Jim’s life to rest and sets Nick running like Jean Valjean.
The Company You Keep
more than capably lets the baton pass from one great actor to another, as a
myriad of storylines introduce strong players in relatively small roles. Many
of the troupers also happen to be veteran activists, so actors such as Sarandon
and Julie Christie (who is especially good) bring an added layer to the
underlying tenor of political activism that fuels Nick’s mission to clear his
name.
Unfortunately, though, a tired runner slows down The Company You Keep. Co-star Shia
LaBeouf simply cannot match the pace of the stacked cast. LaBeouf, while
admittedly giving one of his less terrible performances, almost seems out of
breath when the likes of Redford, Sarandon, and Christie bring so much gusto to
the screen. He’s less a leading man and more like a contagion. Some smart
editing, however, saves many scenes with lengthy reaction shots of Ben’s peers,
which play like chicken soup combatting the flu. (See, for example, a
conversation between LaBeouf and Brit Marling that keeps the shot mostly on the
latter party.) LaBeouf doesn’t destroy the film, though, since The Company You Keep lingers more on
one’s connection to Nick than to Ben’s tiresome antics.
Ben likewise calls to mind Redford’s own history with
searing newsroom dramas. Redford, who starred in the Woodward and Bernstein
drama All the President’s Men, helped
define the virtuoso storytelling that made reporters such thrilling vehicles
for bringing the social issues of the world to the big screen. The Company You Keep, while more than
capably made, never really rings with a clear political message. It’s certainly
a film of a political nature, and the cast brings the spirit of activism to
life, but there isn’t much of a provocative morale to this espionage tale that
spills across America.
The film also struggles to turn Ben’s investigation into
much of a thrill. Few complications arise in Ben’s attempt to uncover Nick’s
story, nor does Nick hit many roadblocks in trying to evade the law and reunite
with Mimi (Christie) his former ally from the Underground. Both storylines
resolve themselves briskly with the two protagonists solving most of their
problems via conversations with obliging peers, although several of the threads
with tertiary characters leave loose ends. (Whatever happens to Anna Kendrick?)
Redford seems to enjoy being both behind the camera and in
front of it so much that he lets The
Company You Keep run without taking a breath. It’s an incredibly fast-paced
film, but it runs from Start to Finish and jumps few hurdles along the way.
What is more exciting: watching a 400-yard dash or watching a boot camp exercise
that treks runners through barbed wire, mud, and other obstacles?
Thanks primarily to the strong supporting cast, which also
includes Nick Nolte, Terrence Howard, Chris Cooper, Richard Jenkins and Stanley
Tucci, The Company You Keep is
consistently engaging as it moves at a steady pace. It won’t raise a pulse, but
it shows that Redford isn’t slowing down, either. Slickly composed with a
rousing score by Cliff Martinez, The
Company You Keep certainly looks as good as the thrillers of Redford’s early
career. The story has an unequivocal political conviction, too, so it’s just
too bad that Redford didn’t cast another old pro (Dustin Hoffman, maybe?) as
the weathered reporter. He’d be running in better company if did.
Rating: ★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
The Company You Keep is currently playing in select cities across Canada.