Young
people who went through ‘Occupy Wall Street’ should go to see “The
Company You Keep” to see how people protested the Vietnam war which had
the government killing college students while some of those a little
older were members of the Weathermen Underground, a revolutionary group
to bring down the U.S. government by robbing banks, blowing up buildings
and, in some incidents, killing innocent bystanders. Some members
disappeared becoming upstanding members of communities for decades and
in recent years some have given themselves up after their children had
grown and they still had their guilt.“The Company You Keep” is the story
of one woman, Sharon Solarz (Susan Sarandon) surrendering after being
wanted for 30 years in connection with a killing at an attempted bank
robbery.

By
doing this Sharon involves some who were with her in those days and
have turned around their lives, all having done quite well. We meet Jim
Grant (Robert Redford), a respected lawyer whose wife recently died,
leaving him with a 11 year old daughter (Jackie Evancho), who goes on
the run to find his former lover Mimi (Julie Christie) who can clear him
and is currently running drugs for her new partner Mac (Sam Elliot). We
meet Fitzgerald  (Nick Nolte) who owns a lumberyard, Jed (Richard
Jenkins) who is a university professor, Billy (Stephen Root) a farmer,
organic of course, and Daniel (Chris Cooper), Jim’s brother who takes
his niece. Last, but certainly not least, is Henry Osborne (Brendan
Gleeson) as a police chief who was involved in the case of the bank
robbery and the guard who was killed.

Redford
brings in younger faces with Ben (Shia LaBeouf) as a reporter who has a
a former girlfriend in the FBI, Diana (Anna Kendrick) who supplies him
with information about Jim and Rebecca as Osborne’s daughter. There is
Diana’s boss, Cornelius (Terrence Howard) who goes on the search for Jim
and/or Mimi as Ben tries to get to them first for the ‘big’ story and
Ben’s boss Ray Fuller (Stanley Tucci)..

This
is a film many young people should go to see to learn  the history of
their grandparent's generation who were not passive when they knew the
government was wrong. They should see how professional, older actors can
raise the level of a film and are a presence on the screen. For those
of us over 60 it reminds us of what individuals Redford, Christie,
Sarandon, Nolte, etc., brought to the screen and still do. Though
Redford’s face hasn’t aged too well in screen terms those of us from
“The Sting” days will see him as he was then just as looking at Christie
the beauty of “Darling” shines through.

The
directing by Redford, with the screenplay by Lem Dobbs is pedestrian,
though there is a scene with Susan Sarandon in prison, and another
between Redford and Christie in a log cabin, that make the film worth
seeing along with the performances by the other older actors. He does
make a major mistake with the Hollywood ending which, if you have seen
any movies, know is coming way before it does.