In "The Company Men," which premiered to a full house in Sundance on Friday night, writer-director John Wells takes a close look at the effects of downsizing in corporate America. Ben Affleck plays a young, successful sales executive for a shipping manufacturer who is suddenly laid off.
From that moment, his Porsche, his suburban mansion and his country club membership are in great peril. But more importantly, his entire self-worth is challenged. Unable to find a new white-collar job, he loses his house, must move back in with his parents and take a manual labor job.
Others at his shipping company, including Chris Cooper and Tommy Lee Jones, do not necessarily fare as well.