The Company You Keep is a film that features a great ensemble cast and a story line that is just thrilling enough to work. Among the top players are Robert Redford, Shia LaBeouf, Julie Christie, Nick Nolte, Susan Sarandon, Richard Jenkins, Stanley Tucci, Chris Cooper, Anna Kendrick, Brendan Gleeson and Terrence Howard. There are even a few I am leaving out to prove what an irresistible cast this is. As I said...the narrative is intriguing enough to work but as I sat there watching this cast of actors who obviously know what they're doing...I couldn't help but feel as if much of the narrative is intriguing simply because everyone in the cast knew how to pull it off.
The film begins with Sharon Solarz (Sarandon) getting arrested at a gas station for a bank robbery that has long past. She was a former member of the Weather Underground...a team of activists who did such things as rob a bank back in the day. We then flash to Jim Grant (Redford) who is being pursued by journalist Ben Shepard (LaBeouf.) Jim then goes on the run and meets up with some of his former partners (Christie, Nolte, Jenkins and Stephen Root) one by one to try and get his name cleared. All the while...federal agents (Howard, Gleeson and Kendrick) are trying to track down Grant. And if you're wondering who Cooper and Tucci play...Cooper plays Jim's brother and Tucci plays Ben's boss.
What worked for me the most is how quaint it felt. There are multiple scenes that give the film a classic man on the run film feeling. This is not to say that the film is cliche or feels dated. On the contrary, this is a very original aspect of the film. Rarely have I seen a film that reminded me so much of old fashioned entertainment such as "The Fugitive" and "The Prisoner." The other great aspect of the film is the acting. If it weren't for the top of the line cast at hand...this could easily have been a boring, tedious film that would have never gotten its feet off the ground. However, as performed by these phenomenal, versatile actors...the film works wonders. Also..the direction by Redford is quite impressive. He gives the visual a creative pop that I was not expecting.
All in all....I thoroughly enjoyed The Company You Keep. It's one of the better films I've seen this year even if it does get a bit dull toward the end as it enters into cliche crime drama territory. Still...it's a film I recommend going to see if you want to see some great acting and a very good story line.
(4 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for language)
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