The Company You Keep (2012)

This riveting thriller about a former Weather Underground radical and the reporter who figures out his story is chock full of stars, with the high production values we expect from a Robert Redford joint. We knew of all the top billed actors except the kid (more on her in a moment) of which four (Redford, Julie Christie, Chris Cooper, and Susan Sarandon) have won Oscars and five (Terrence Howard, Richard Jenkins, Anna Kendrick, Nick Nolte, and Stanley Tucci) have been nominated. 

Redford (favorites of his directing: I often say that his Ordinary People (1980) which earned him his Oscar is one of the few movies I liked better than the book; I also loved Quiz Show (1994) and The Horse Whisperer (1998) and liked The Milagro Beanfield War (1988) and A River Runs Through It (1992); of his 67 acting roles I pick Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) which is one of Jack's all-time favorites, The Candidate (1972), The Sting (1973), All the President's Men (1976), The Electric Horseman (1979), The Natural (1984), Out of Africa (1985), Legal Eagles (1986), Indecent Proposal (1993), Up Close & Personal (1996), and The Horse Whisperer) is the activist. Redford is not afraid of looking his 76 years though I don't know how most of his hair could be that color without a bottle. Shia LaBeouf is 50 years younger and way less annoying here than he was in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. In fact, he's pretty good as the dogged Ben. This being about former 1960s activists, there are quite a few of un certain age. 

We should all look as good as Christie (covered in New York I Love You) at 72 as another activist. Or Sarandon (most recently in Arbitrage), for that matter, at 66. Nolte (profiled in Warrior), who often makes us laugh just to see him, and Jenkins (last in Liberal Arts) round out the W.U. group. Cooper (61, blogged in The Muppets) has a small part as Redford's brother, Irishman Brendan Gleeson (Albert Nobbs) uses a believable American accent as a former judge, and Sam Elliott is in a couple of scenes sporting his trademark bushy gray hair and mustache. Kendrick (End of Watch), Brit Marling (also blogged in Arbitrage), Tucci (last seen by me in Margin Call), and Howard (my favorites include Hustle & Flow (2005) which is the first movie Jack and I saw together--fixed up on that date by Mary Ellen, Mr. Holland's Opus (1995), Crash (2004), Four Brothers (2005), The Brave One (2007), and the first Iron Man (2008)) are also good, despite being under 60 years old. 13 year old Jackie Evancho (apparently she was runner up in America's Got Talent three years ago--watch this clip and wonder, as I did, how anyone could have been better) plays Redford's 11-year-old kid.

Lem Dobbs (Haywire) adapted the 2003 novel by Neil Gordon. A few minutes into the movie today Jack whispered, "I read this!"

Beautiful British Columbia locations are captured with cinematography by Adriano Goldman (Sin Nombre) and the moody, tense music is by Cliff Martinez (last scored Arbitrage), who is becoming one of my favorites. There are two songs listed onscreen for the soundtrack, and you can hear one long cue on Martinez' own website and clips from the album on amazon.

This is good. We recommend it.