Learn a thing or two about “The Company You Keep”
Robert Redford, Shia LaBeouf, Susan Sarandon and Stanley Tucci are back on the big screen in “The Company You Keep,” a movie about a journalist in search for answers regarding a man who is wanted for murder.
The thriller is directed by Redford, who also plays main character Jim Grant, a lawyer and single father on the run from the FBI.
His co-star LaBeouf plays Ben Shepard, a journalist who writes for a New York newspaper and is the reason why Grant is on the run.
Shepard wrote an article that exposed Grant as a radical fugitive who had been hiding for years and is wanted for murder.
As Grant travels from state to state trying to find the one person who can clear his name, Shepard tries to track him down to break this national news story.
It was different seeing Redford play the role of a wanted man instead of a journalist like he did in “All the President’s Men.”
His acting skills were great back then and he’s still just as talented now.
LaBeouf shows a more serious side to his acting in the role of Shepard, and I found myself relating to his character in how determined he was as a journalist.
Shepard would call one of his sources for information and if they were “unable to take a phone call,” he would show up at their doorstep and wait until he got the interview he needed.
He had to deal with his interviewees saying they wanted some things “on the record” and other things “off the record.”
Shepard had a way with words and knew he had to be nice to certain people and firm with others to get information.
He understood the importance of story deadlines and that he could only push his editor’s buttons to an extent.
Several times throughout the movie, Shepard was asked what he was going to do with the information he got, and each time he would respond, “I’m going to do my job.”
Scenes like these made me chuckle and smile because I knew what they felt like from experience.
Although I loved Redford and LaBeouf’s characters, I was a little disappointed at Sarandon and Tucci’s roles.
When I heard who the actors were going to be for this movie, I was excited because I knew it was going to be a dramatic thriller.
I’m not saying it isn’t and I understand that Sarandon and Tucci were only playing supporting characters, however I thought such great talent went to waste.
When I think of Sarandon, I think of her dramatic roles in “Stepmom” and even “Enchanted” as an animated character.
In “The Company You Keep,” Sarandon plays Sharon Solarz, a woman who was arrested for being involved in a radical movement as well as for the same murder Grant is accused of committing.
Throughout the whole movie, Sarandon only had one really important scene.
Although she played a magnificent part as a prisoner refusing to speak to anyone unless they were a journalist, I wish she had a much bigger role in this film.
Tucci plays Ray Fuller, Shepard’s boss.
I expected to get some laughs out of Tucci’s character, similar to his roles in “The Hunger Games” and “The Devil Wears Prada.”
I definitely chuckled at the newsroom humor shared between Shepard and Fuller.
Again, although I loved Tucci in this movie, I wish he had a bigger role.
One thing I wasn’t aware of was that this movie was initially a book.
“The Company You Keep” was written in 2003 by Neil Gordon.
I have a feeling that if I read the book before I saw the movie then I would have liked the book a lot better, like with most movies that are initially books.
Overall, I enjoyed this movie because I appreciate journalism and a good thriller.
Although it wasn’t absolutely spectacular, it is still a movie worth watching.
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