Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
On Quartile, The Company You Keep scores 6.5/10 across five categories — strongest on Plot (Above Average), weakest on Cinematography (Below Average).
A former Weather Underground activist goes on the run from a journalist who discovers his identity.
The Company You Keep is a competent political thriller with a solid ensemble cast (Redford, Shia LaBeouf, Julie Christie, Nick Nolte) that elevates the material. The plot about a former radical going on the run has intrinsic interest but unfolds in a fairly procedural, predictable way. The cinematography is functional but unremarkable for the genre. Novelty is limited — the aging radical/idealism-vs-reality theme has been well-trodden, and the execution doesn't find a sufficiently distinctive voice. The ending is satisfying in a conventional dramatic sense without being particularly memorable. Overall a respectable but modest mainstream thriller.