In the Company of Men
Encyclopedia
In the Company of Men is a 1997 Canadian/American black comedy
written and directed by Neil LaBute
and starring Aaron Eckhart
, Matt Malloy
, and Stacy Edwards
. The film, which was adapted from a play written by LaBute, and served as his feature film debut, won him the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay
.
The film revolves around two male coworkers, Chad (Eckhart), and Howard (Malloy), who, angry and frustrated with women in general, plot to toy maliciously with the emotions of a deaf female subordinate.
) and Howard (Matt Malloy
) are two middle management employees at a corporation, temporarily assigned to a branch office away from home for six weeks. Howard is assigned to head up the project. Embittered by bad experiences with women, they form a revenge scheme to find an insecure woman, romance her simultaneously, and then break up with her at the same time. Chad, who is cruel, manipulative, duplicitous, and abusive to his subordinates, is the originator and driving force behind the scheme, while Howard is the more passive of the two, which leads to a later conflict with the scheme.
Chad decides upon Christine (Stacy Edwards
), a deaf coworker who is so self-conscious
that she wears headphones so people, thinking that she is listening to music, are compelled to get her attention visually or tactilely without immediately learning that she is deaf. Chad and Howard decide to each ask her out, and over the course of several weeks, date her simultaneously.
In the meantime, things with the project go wrong; a fax Chad is supposed to have made to the home office is "lost" and a presentation Chad is supposed to deliver to the home office is unable to be carried out successfully after some documents are allegedly printed so lightly that they are illegible. These mishaps culminate in Howard being demoted and Chad taking his place at the head of the project. Chad eventually sleeps with Christine, and she falls in love with him. When Christine eventually breaks this news to Howard, Howard tells Christine the truth about their scheme, and tells her that he loves her. Christine is shocked by the revelation, and refuses to believe that Chad would do this. When she confronts Chad, he admits the truth. Christine angrily slaps Chad, but Chad is unashamed of his behavior, and cruelly taunts Christine, who collapses into tears after he leaves her.
Weeks later, Howard confronts Chad back home at his apartment. Howard is now apparently in the bad graces of the company, having been moved to a lower floor, while Chad is doing well, and thus offering to say something on Howard's behalf. Nevertheless, Howard is not worried about work; he confesses to Chad that he really loved Christine. At this point Chad, despite having previously told Howard that his girlfriend, Suzanne, had left him, shows Howard that she is still there, asleep in his bed. Chad says that he carried out the plan "because I could," and asks Howard how it feels to have truly hurt someone.
Howard, who had never done anything like that before, leaves, horrified. Howard later travels back to the city and to a bank where he sees Christine, and tries to speak to her, but she looks away in anger. He loudly pleads with her to "listen" to him, but his pleas literally fall on deaf ears.
section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival
. The film currently has an 88% Fresh rating at the movie review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes
, with 46 out of 52 critics rating it "Fresh".
This film also won the Filmmaker's Trophy at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival.
of the film contains two commentary tracks, one with director Neil LaBute, and the other with stars Aaron Eckhart, Matt Malloy and Stacy Edwards.
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
written and directed by Neil LaBute
Neil LaBute
Neil N. LaBute is an American film director, screenwriter and playwright.-Early life:LaBute was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Marian, a hospital receptionist, and Richard LaBute, a long-haul truck driver. LaBute is of French Canadian, English and Irish ancestry, and was raised in Spokane,...
and starring Aaron Eckhart
Aaron Eckhart
Aaron Edward Eckhart is an American film and stage actor. Born in California, he moved to England at the age of 13, when his father relocated the family. Several years later, he began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Sydney, Australia, for his high school senior year...
, Matt Malloy
Matt Malloy
Matt Malloy is an American character actor. He has had numerous roles in both film and TV often portraying the beleaguered everyman. Malloy's only starring role to date was alongside Aaron Eckhart in the critically acclaimed black comedy, In the Company of Men...
, and Stacy Edwards
Stacy Edwards
Stacy Edwards is an American actress.Edwards was born in Glasgow, Montana, the daughter of Patty and Preston Edwards, who was an Air Force officer. She grew up all over the world, from Guam to Alabama. At 18, she received a scholarship to the Lou Conte Dance Studio in Chicago and began her...
. The film, which was adapted from a play written by LaBute, and served as his feature film debut, won him the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay
Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay
The Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay is one of the annual awards given by Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers.-1990s:1994*David O...
.
The film revolves around two male coworkers, Chad (Eckhart), and Howard (Malloy), who, angry and frustrated with women in general, plot to toy maliciously with the emotions of a deaf female subordinate.
Synopsis
Chad (Aaron EckhartAaron Eckhart
Aaron Edward Eckhart is an American film and stage actor. Born in California, he moved to England at the age of 13, when his father relocated the family. Several years later, he began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Sydney, Australia, for his high school senior year...
) and Howard (Matt Malloy
Matt Malloy
Matt Malloy is an American character actor. He has had numerous roles in both film and TV often portraying the beleaguered everyman. Malloy's only starring role to date was alongside Aaron Eckhart in the critically acclaimed black comedy, In the Company of Men...
) are two middle management employees at a corporation, temporarily assigned to a branch office away from home for six weeks. Howard is assigned to head up the project. Embittered by bad experiences with women, they form a revenge scheme to find an insecure woman, romance her simultaneously, and then break up with her at the same time. Chad, who is cruel, manipulative, duplicitous, and abusive to his subordinates, is the originator and driving force behind the scheme, while Howard is the more passive of the two, which leads to a later conflict with the scheme.
Chad decides upon Christine (Stacy Edwards
Stacy Edwards
Stacy Edwards is an American actress.Edwards was born in Glasgow, Montana, the daughter of Patty and Preston Edwards, who was an Air Force officer. She grew up all over the world, from Guam to Alabama. At 18, she received a scholarship to the Lou Conte Dance Studio in Chicago and began her...
), a deaf coworker who is so self-conscious
Self-consciousness
Self-consciousness is an acute sense of self-awareness. It is a preoccupation with oneself, as opposed to the philosophical state of self-awareness, which is the awareness that one exists as an individual being; although some writers use both terms interchangeably or synonymously...
that she wears headphones so people, thinking that she is listening to music, are compelled to get her attention visually or tactilely without immediately learning that she is deaf. Chad and Howard decide to each ask her out, and over the course of several weeks, date her simultaneously.
In the meantime, things with the project go wrong; a fax Chad is supposed to have made to the home office is "lost" and a presentation Chad is supposed to deliver to the home office is unable to be carried out successfully after some documents are allegedly printed so lightly that they are illegible. These mishaps culminate in Howard being demoted and Chad taking his place at the head of the project. Chad eventually sleeps with Christine, and she falls in love with him. When Christine eventually breaks this news to Howard, Howard tells Christine the truth about their scheme, and tells her that he loves her. Christine is shocked by the revelation, and refuses to believe that Chad would do this. When she confronts Chad, he admits the truth. Christine angrily slaps Chad, but Chad is unashamed of his behavior, and cruelly taunts Christine, who collapses into tears after he leaves her.
Weeks later, Howard confronts Chad back home at his apartment. Howard is now apparently in the bad graces of the company, having been moved to a lower floor, while Chad is doing well, and thus offering to say something on Howard's behalf. Nevertheless, Howard is not worried about work; he confesses to Chad that he really loved Christine. At this point Chad, despite having previously told Howard that his girlfriend, Suzanne, had left him, shows Howard that she is still there, asleep in his bed. Chad says that he carried out the plan "because I could," and asks Howard how it feels to have truly hurt someone.
Howard, who had never done anything like that before, leaves, horrified. Howard later travels back to the city and to a bank where he sees Christine, and tries to speak to her, but she looks away in anger. He loudly pleads with her to "listen" to him, but his pleas literally fall on deaf ears.
Reception
The film was screened in the Un Certain RegardUn Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection. It is run at the Salle Debussy, parallel to the competition for the Palme d'Or.This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob...
section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival
1997 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Isabelle Adjani *Gong Li *Mira Sorvino *Paul Auster *Tim Burton *Luc Bondy *Patrick Dupond *Mike Leigh *Nanni Moretti *Michael Ondaatje -Feature film competition:...
. The film currently has an 88% Fresh rating at the movie review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, with 46 out of 52 critics rating it "Fresh".
This film also won the Filmmaker's Trophy at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival.
DVD
The DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
of the film contains two commentary tracks, one with director Neil LaBute, and the other with stars Aaron Eckhart, Matt Malloy and Stacy Edwards.