The Company You Keep

2013 "The greatest manhunt in history."
6.4| 2h1m| R| en| More Info
Released: 05 April 2013 Released
Producted By: Wildwood Enterprises
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

A former Weather Underground activist goes on the run from a journalist who discovers his identity.

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Reviews

Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall
Supelice Dreadfully Boring
Inadvands Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess
Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
Michael Ledo Sharon Solarz (Susan Sarandon) turns herself into the FBI. She was a long time Weatherman (SDS) fugitive that was involved in bank robbery decades ago where a person was killed. This sets off a chain of events that ripples through the other fugitives of the group, particularly NY attorney Jim Grant (Robert Redford) who for some reason never made it to Putney. Jim has a daughter (kudos to Jackie Evancho) and goes on the lam. He becomes the attention of a national man hunt and is also pursued by Albany reporter Ben Shepard (Shia LaBeouf) who broke the story. Ben discovers that this saga has layers.The characters are not only well developed, but they evolve within the film. There is a slightly layered mystery. We get clues about each layer prior to it being revealed. The film utilizes the 60's movement as background with the expected speeches, but also looks at the human side of things which are not as black and white. Mildly heart warming too.The film has a few slow scenes, one that comes to mind is the jail interview of Solarz. But that should not deter any 60's child from enjoying a film about growing up and changing responsibilities.Parental Guide: F-bombs. No sex or nudity. Is it possible to elude the FBI for 40 years? Google: Leo Burt.
sddavis63 Although I realize that the movie is based on a novel and is entirely fictional, my first hope when I decided to watch it was that I might nevertheless learn something about the Weather Underground. I'm fairly familiar with US history, but I have to confess that all I knew about the group was that it was a violent anti-Vietnam group, so I looked forward to gaining a little more knowledge. That possibility was put to rest by the fact that the movie has the group pulling off a bank robbery in 1980 - long after the group had ceased to exist. (Why the bank robbery wouldn't have been put farther back into the past to make this more believable is a mystery.) So my primary hope in watching this really wasn't achieved. But how did it work as a movie; as a piece of entertainment? I can't say that I found it a gripping two hours.The movie started far too abruptly with the arrest of Sharon (Susan Sarandon) for the long ago (even if it was 1980) robbery and murder of a bank guard. The basic story really needed to be introduced a bit more before that happened. But after that happens, the film settles into its basic story, as with the FBI searching for him, Jim (really Nick - played by Robert Redford) suddenly has to go on the run, seeking out the one person who can confirm that he wasn't a part of the robbery and murder. For the most part I just didn't find this very interesting. It features a lot of well known names (Redford - who also directed - and Sarandon, but also people like Nick Nolte and Sam Elliott and Julie Christie) but, for me, it didn't feature a lot of performances that really stood out. Redford's age (he was 76 when this as made) was a big problem for me - especially as he was portrayed as the father of an 11 year old daughter. Not impossible, I agree, but it seemed far-fetched - and I thought Redford at times looked his age. Shia LaBeouf, who played a reporter, was entirely unnecessary to the story, quite frankly. I didn't really need the reporter to push this story forward to be honest. The closest thing to a plot twist in this (revolving around the adopted daughter of the sheriff who investigated the bank robbery years before) was one I had figured out almost from the beginning.There was a bit of intensity toward the end of the movie when we wondered if Mimi (Christie) was going to escape to Canada or return to save Nick's skin, but aside from that I found that my attention simply kept wandering as the movie plodded along. (3/10)
leonblackwood Review: I was surprised to see that this movie didn't get a major release because it has an impressive cast and with Robert Retford in the directing chair, I knew that it was going to be a detailed, political drama because of his personal political views. I must admit, it does get a bit boring after a while but I was wondering how the plot was going to pan out. Its about a recently widowed single father, Jim Grant (Robert Redford), whose a former Weather Underground militant, wanted for a 1980 Michigan bank robbery and the murder of the bank's security guard. After being in hiding for 30 years, working as a defence attorney in Albany, New York under a new identity, a former Weather Underground member is arrested, Sharon Solarz (Susan Sarandon), and an ambitious reporter, Ben Shepard (Shia LaBeouf) gets put in the case. Ben's boss, Ray Fuller (Stanley Tucci) wants Ben to use his political connections to find out exactly what happened during the robbery, so Ben goes to his ex-girlfriend Diana (Anna Kendrick), for information. Ben then finds out that Jim hasn't got a Social Security number, prior to 1979 and he finds a copy of Jim Grants death certificate. After some more digging, he finds out that Jim Grant is really Nick Sloan, whose a former Weatherman, so he writes an article, which gets the FBI involved in the case. They then post "Wanted" pictures in the media with Jim's face, so he calls his younger brother, Daniel (Chris Cooper) for help. Whilst on the run, Jim turns on the fire alarm in his hotel and escapes through the back door while Daniel takes his young daughter, Isabel, to safety. As Daniel has custody papers for Jim's daughter, the FBI have to let them go, knowing that Jim is close by. After slipping through there fingers, Jim heads to Milwaukee to find his old friend Donal (Nick Note), to try and find Mimi Lurie (Julie Christie), who was an accomplice in the bank robbery and last seen in Canada. After putting him up for the night, Donal tells him to see a former member whose now become a history professor, Jed (Richard Jenkins) who reluctantly gives him information about Mimi's whereabouts, using his old connections. Jim then finds out that Mimi has been working in California with her boyfriend Mac (Sam Elliott), importing marijuana into the US, and when he gets in touch with Mac, he tells him that Mimi has left to go "Inland". As Jim used to have an relationship with Mimi, he knows exactly were to find her, but with the FBI on his tail, he has to be careful with his movements. Meanwhile Ben is digging deeper into Jim's case file, which leads him to Michigan were he talks to he talks to a retired cop, Henry (Brendan Gleeson), who was the first person to investigate the crime. Ben then finds out that Henry had close connections to Mimi before the robbery and he can feel that he's hiding important information, so he sticks around and he goes on a date with Henry's adopted daughter Rebecca (Brit Marling). After getting some more information from Rebecca, Henry tells Ben that he knows that Jim will be cleared of all charges if Mimi admits to using his car on the day of the robbery. Meanwhile, Jim meets Mimi in a secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere, and he tries to convince Mimi to come clean, for his daughters sake, but she still has strong political views about the Weathermen organisation. They then talk about the daughter that they gave up during there radical years together, which turns out to be Henry's adopted daughter, Rebecca and when Henry tells Ben about Rebecca's identity he realises that Jim is looking for Mimi to clear his name. Ben then goes to the cabin and confronts Jim, who he knows is innocent but Mimi has already left for Canada. Knowing that the FBI are close by, Jim makes them follow him so Mimi can escape. While Mimi is on the run on her boat, the guilt becomes to much for her and she decides to turn herself in, which frees Jim from jail, so he can reunite with his daughter Isabel. Ben then decides not to expose the whole story, to protect Rebecca's true identity. It is a detailed storyline with some intense moments and the cast was great but I'm not one for political dramas. If It wasn't for the A-Class actors, I would have definitely fallen asleep because it seemed like it was going round in circles. The whole journalism concept of the film, did turn my stomach because Shia LaBeouf's character didn't care about the damage that he was causing. Anyway, there are many twists and turns throughout the film to keep in interesting but it's not the type of film that I would watch twice. Average! Round-Up: Its hard to believe that Robert Redford is still going strong, at the age of 79 and with over 70 movies to his name which have grossed nearly $2Billion, he can definitely be proud of his career in cinema, in front and behind the camera. He reunites with Jane Fonda in the upcoming movie, Our Souls At Night and he stars alongside Jeffrey Wright in Heretic. He also plays a major role as Pete's father in Disney's Pete's Dragon, which is due out this year, so he's still quite busy. In this film, which he also directed, he did put in a realistic performance and from a directional point of view, all of the actors gave this movie there all but it did seem to drag after a while.Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $20millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their drama/thrillers starring Robert Redford, Shia LeBeouf, Julie Christie, Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte, Chris Cooper, Terence Howard, Stanley Tucci, Richard Jenkins, Anna Kendrick, Brendan Gleeson and Sam Elliott. 4/10
Alex Deleon The Company You Keep; A Robert Redford film Viewed at Cinestar 4, Sony Center, Berlin, Sunday night, August 4, 2013. THE COMPANY YOU KEEP Directed and starring Robert Redford is a Political thriller about Weatherman Underground Radicals of the sixties surfacing four decades later, and a gung-ho reporter on a provincial newspaper tracking the story. Co stars, Shia LaBeouf, Julie Christie, And the young daughter, (Jackie Evancho, in an important role). Other supporting roles, the Negro police chief, the Albany Sun newspaper editor, and several other old timers. This is essentially an old timers film to see what stars of the sixties and early seventies look like forty and fifty years later -- At least that was my main interest here in Berlin on a summer Sunday evening with nothing better to do. Redford has aged crunchingly and his face is so ravaged that he looks older than his actual age (76) but he still has the star charisma and moves like a younger man looking better as the pic progresses and you get used to his older look -- Ravaged but instantly recognizable playing the father of a twelve year old which makes him seem younger, but the kid could really be his grand daughter. In any case all the scenes between them are extra good and Redford comes. across as a truly loving and affectionate father. The father child chemistry was perfect. Later Redford is also good as the fugitive on the lam, in fact this is his most convincing performance of late, playing an underground sixties rebel wrongfully accused of a murder that was actually committed by his old flame (and mother of an older daughter who was given up for adoption) -- Julie Christie (now 72) . MS. Christie doesn't appear until late in the picture and is all but unrecognizable as the erstwhile alluring English "Darling" of the swinging sixties -- but still looks interesting with that pointed nose as a ravaged old lady who was once a beauty. (Anatomically speaking the whole picture can be seen as a study of Noses!)In the story Redford, a former Weatherman, has been living under an assumed name and a new identity for 35 years, so if he was, say, in his mid twenties in the mid 60s he would be in his late 60s at the present time of the picture -- which is a little old to have an eleven year old daughter, but not out of the question. In any case he plays the father convincingly and the ending where he is finally reunited with her and they walk away from the camera chatting with no sound, is quite poetic and heart warming. Susan Sarandon (a mere 66). appears right at the beginning, also as an old time Weatherman who turns herself in and there is a long scene with stark facial closeups between her and Shia Laboeuf, is an investigative reporter interviewing her in jail . This is Sarandon's only big scene and affords a magnificent study of her ski-jump nasal structure -- and is crucial to the whole story as she expounds the entire philosophy of the radical anti-war movement of the sixties The whole movie abounds in facial closeups so it's pretty clear that Redford has no hang- ups about showing his age on screen. . . . Or the ages of his contemporaries! Nick Nolte (72) is a surprise coming out of the woodwork in the middle of the pic, again nearly unrecognizable, except for the voice in a small but very positive part. Chris Cooper (62) plays Redford's younger brother in his usual business like manner and has a nice hairdo (for an older cat!). Shia Laboeuf, 27 (in horn rimmed glasses throughout (like Clark Kent) was surprisingly appealing as the compulsive ambitious young reporter and is obviously a comer on the current Hollywood scene. I saw him here in February during the Berlinale in an abominable action movie set in Bucharest, and thought he was just another young nothing of an actor, but -- gulp -- I was wrong. Mea Culpa. Overall it was a bit of a shaggy dog story as we travel all over the map from Albany to the mid-west, with Redford trying to find the one!person (Christie) who can clear his name of an old murder rap, but the characters kept it going and the suspense of the chase was there. Not a great movie but pretty good "time pass" as they say in India, especially to see old stars still earning their keep in Geritol roles. Christie I found exceptionally interesting to watch in the crucial long scene in the cabin with Redford by the fire faces partially in shadow beautifully shot, in a very un-Darlingesque appearance.All in all it was a routine story trying to remind us of a little sixties history with maybe something to say about internal terrorism. There is one scene where Redford visits a bald headed old crony who is now a respected college professor and this guy tells him that the adventures they lived through in the sixties are like Ancient History to his students These days! ~ What this movie does, above all, is remind older viewers that Time Marches On and we will all soon be history ourselves --- but that is maybe a subtext that was not intended. For me the main interest of the movie was the Nostalgia factor ---the lingering studies of aging star faces with the sappy younger generation basically in the background. This definitely not a youth oriented movie but more a movie for survivors of the sixties like myself -- an era that has now become more remote in the collective memory than World War 2 -- as old and jaded as the Rolling stones and Paul MacCartney. Paul --- er, who??