The Company You Keep

Robert Redford directs and stars in this compelling thriller about former members of the Weather Underground, the controversial radical 1970's anti-Vietnam War group. Just as she's about to turn herself in, Vermont housewife Sharon Solarz (Susan Sarandon) is arrested in New York by FBI agents. Solarz has been on the “wanted” list for 30 years for her role in a botched Michigan bank robbery that resulted in the death of a security guard. Reprimanded by his editor (Stanley Tucci) for not breaking the story locally, enterprising Albany Sun Times reporter Ben Shepard (Shia LaBeouf) uses a former lover/now FBI agent (Anna Kendrick) to zero in on civil rights lawyer Jim Grant (Redford), who has surprisingly declined to take Solarz's case. A widower raising his young daughter, it turns out that Grant has also been in hiding; he's really Nick Sloan, believed to be another bank robber. The only way Nick can clear his name is to contact his former compatriots (Nick Nolte, Richard Jenkins) and track down his ex-lover, still idealistic Mimi Lurie (Julie Christie). Meanwhile, Ben continues to delve into the back story, not only interviewing Solarz but also the investigating officer (Brendan Gleeson), whose beautiful daughter (Brit Marling) catches his attention. Adapted from Neil Gordon's novel, The Company You Keep is a solid conspiratorial crisis-of-conscience tale about facing the consequences of one's actions. Unfortunately, Redford, Christie, and Sarandon seem too old to have been naïve student-activists in the ‘60s. Still, this is recommended, overall. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “The Script, Preparation and the Cast” behind-the-scenes featurette (18 min.), a press conference featuring costars Robert Redford, Stanley Tucci, Brit Marling, and others (13 min.), “The Movement” on the Weather Underground (12 min.), a red carpet premiere featurette (2 min.), trailers, and a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for this smart, star-powered film.] (S. Granger)