Among the many labels hung on last year's In the Company of Men, the two that stick are inevitably "brilliant" and "controversial." The tag "black comedy" is a little less apt, however, since the film is basically about emotional manipulation and abuse. Sure, there's humor, but evil dominates. The comedy comes mostly from the character traits of the villians, which is a brilliant stroke since bad people rarely look like villians, with ominous wardrobes and angry, humorless dispositions. They look just like you and me. The DVD version of the film is well worth checking out, as it comes with commentary tracks from the director and the actors, all of whom did a brave, beautiful job on the movie.

Harold Check