THE COMPANY YOU KEEP IS ABOUT COMPANY LOST TRACK OF
In the 1960s, some members of Students for a Democratic Society decided to take direct action methods. Known as the Weather Underground, they placed bombs in various locations and were high on the FBI “Most Wanted” list. Based on the novel The Company You Keep (2003) by Neil Gordon and a screenplay directed by Robert Redford, the FBI has suddenly found Sharon Solarz (played by Susan Sarandon), who allegedly committed offenses a half-century ago even though she took on a new identity. When the New York Times runs an article about her arrest near Albany, New York, the editor of the local newspaper in Albany assigns Ben Shepard (played by Shia LaBoeuf) to dig up more. What he finds and publishes leads the FBI on a manhunt for Nick Sloan aka Jim Grant (played by Robert Redford), who is charged with murder. Sloan, in turn, tracks down former colleagues to ascertain who was on the scene at a bank robbery when someone was killed, and he then embarks on a womanhunt for Mimi Lurie (played by Julie Christie), the only one who can clear him. But why would she, an unrepentant radical, give herself up for a prison sentence or even death so that he could avoid serving time? Sloan tries to persuade Mimi that the life of his daughter would presumably be ruined if he went to prison for an offense that he did not commit. The film provides some nostalgia for the radical movements of the 1960s, the actions of the Weather Underground, and how most of them have gone straight to enjoy family and professional life despite the fact that they agree that the plutocracy they protested still exists. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama was attacked for “the company he keeps” by consorting with William Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground, so someone must have read the novel. Accordingly, Redford has succeeded in refuting the aspersion then cast on Obama. MH