Back in the 1970s, the Weather Underground conducted a series of bombings and other violent tactics to protest against the United States government’s actions in Vietnam.
By reading that, you have learned just as much information about the Weather Underground as what “The Company You Keep” has to offer. Instead of a history lesson, director Robert Redford wants to deliver a cat-and-mouse chase film, but even on that basis it falls short of entertaining.
The film opens during the present day, with the FBI arresting Sharon Solarz (Susan Sarandon), a former Weather Underground member who was involved with the murder of a security guard during the group’s bank robbery in Michigan. Journalist Ben Shepard (Shia LaBeouf) sees this as an opportunity to write a national news story. His investigation lands him at the office of Jim Grant (Robert Redford).
Using the vague details Grant reluctantly reveals during an interview, Shepard continues to dig into Grant’s past and realizes that Jim Grant is actually Nick Sloan, another former Weather Underground member. Shepard reveals this to the FBI, and Grant is labeled as one of the bank robbers, even though he claims innocence. He ends up on the run in search of Mimi Laurie (Julie Christie), who is the only person who can clear his name.
The movie shifts between scenes of Grant evading the law and scenes of Shepard relentlessly searching for more information to expose the truth, but neither story line develops any sustainable drama despite the valiant efforts by LaBeouf and Redford.
The only real complexity that “The Company You Keep” delves into is the guilt the Weather Underground members bottle up after 30 years, which is only inflated as their families are dragged in. These details are fascinating, but they are only sporadic throughout the film.
Redford wants to make a tense journalism film in the vein of “All the President’s Men,” but “The Company You Keep” never takes any risks in its storytelling, and its thin substance doesn’t offer anything new to the genre.
A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, April 2 print edition. Zack Grullon is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected].