GTX Corporation used to be a ship builder, but it's now a conglomerate. Head man James Salinger (Craig T. Nelson) decides to cut jobs to improve the company's balance sheet, and boost the stock price. Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) is a long time company man who started on the shop floor. Gene McClary (Tommy Lee Jones) is James Salinger's right hand man, and reluctantly executes the order. Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) is a successful sales guy. When he's downsized, he has trouble dealing with it. His life with his wife Maggie (Rosemarie DeWitt) strains. Can he swallow his pride and ask brother-in-law Jack Dolan (Kevin Costner) for help?

There are too many lead characters scattered in different directions. It diffuses all the emotional tension. Ben Affleck is playing his character too angry. It's a one-note performance that changes way too late. The final solution is too happy Hollywood. It makes the whole movie feel like a sermon. There really isn't any need for it especially if the filmmaker is shooting for some 'truth'.

Ben Affleck has been downsized from his company. His division was shipbuilding which is one of the last industries to recover from a recession. Ben tells his wife who goes immediately into the downsize frugal mode. Affleck is in denial and doesn't want to do anything to change their life, i.e. maintain the $600 a month eating out and dry cleaning bill.

Tommy Lee Jones plays Affleck's former boss. He was "out of the loop" when Affleck got laid off. He feels bad about it, but like everyone else at the company they fear more for their own job than give sympathy. The movie smartly shifts back and forth juxtaposing Tommy Lee's life drinking unblended scotch, and Affleck trying to get a job while telling no one he is unemployed. He breaks all the rules in the book by not networking with friends.

Affleck's former company is wanting to lay more people off in order to increase the stock price. They are worried about a takeover all the while they are building a new office building in downtown Boston. Affleck is not doing well with anger management at his job interviews as job offers require relocation and his salary reduced to that of my own...I almost feel bad for the guy who may have to sell his Porsche. Affleck is finding out a lot of people lost their job and those looking for jobs are more qualified than him. He is also too proud to ask his blue collar family for help. Tommy Lee is having an affair with a woman at work, Sally Wilcox (Maria Bello) who provides us with some gratuitous down sized brief nudity.

I really have no pity for Affleck. He has 12 weeks pay and he could have been working during that time for his BIL. His Massachusetts unemployment benefits (which is never mentioned) is more than what most of my neighbors make. He didn't downsize his life in a timely manner. Good acting, but there were no real New England accents in the whole group.

The ending was unrealistic, but hey, it's a movie.

There are undeniably very heavy and good themes lying around in this movie. There is quite a lot of potential to be explored. And yet most of it stays buried. The ensemble cast is great overall, with more then stellar performances throughout. Unfortunately the story only really seems to care about one of the characters.

Every time Chris Cooper comes on screen it's like magic. The man has charisma and his story would be worth more time and more exposition overall. The same goes for Tommy Lee Jones character (quite a lot of things are not being said here, but shown, still not enough). What we do get is Ben Affleck. While he showed us how to make a great thriller recently ("The Town" and I like him as an actor overall),his character is very hard to wrap your head around. While some things have to do with dignity, it's still borderline cliché (mostly crossing the line). The fact that there are so many options and he doesn't even consider them (movie logic or script reasons, you can also call it the way of the "Hero"),makes it really difficult to feel for him.

A subtle approach that could have been a lot better if it had focused on certain things.