MovieChat Forums > The Company You Keep (2013) Discussion > What Year Is This Supposed to Take Place...

What Year Is This Supposed to Take Place In?

posted 10 years ago by jobimfan3000
4 replies | jump to latest

Historically, the Weather Underground was dissolved by the late 70s or early 80s (depending on whose narrative you follow).

This movie was made at 2012 yet they refer to the robbery as occurring 30 years ago. They were underground by 1972, some 40 years before the start of this movie, assuming it is set in the present day. I thought the performances were very good even if the story was a little muddled at times. I just think it may have worked better if they had moved the setting back about 10 years.

What say you about the timeline?

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[–] Mngirl1974 10 years ago

I came here to look this up as well. I think people have completely forgotten the '00s! Everyone does the math wrong. So in answer to your question I guess you are right. They either should have said 40 years ago or put it 10 years before. The technology is from now from what I can tell.

[–] HairynosedWombat 9 years ago

In 1981, after the Weather Underground disbanded some former members robbed an armoured car where three people were killed. If the bank robbery is a fictionalised account, then the present would be 2011.

In his cloak of words strode the ringmaster

[–] spookyrat1 9 years ago

I think the movie is set in "contemporary times" and as the above poster and other posters on these boards have noted, is loosely based on some historical events. But Redford and his writer have wisely chosen IMO, to present the story as entirely fictional, with no further references to historical events, other than what we see depicted.🐭

[–] markfilipak 8 years ago

The contemporary time is Oct 2011 (from newspaper mastheads).

A microfiche that Shapard retrieves is "Dangerous Fugitives' Local Connection: Relatives of radical fugitives Mimi Lurie and Nick Sloan find recent news coverage encouraging" from Mikwaukee Union Ledger, Nov 2, 1976 -- (at 1:24:47 of the DVD).

Further, the last sentence of the last full paragraph in the 1st column reads: "The rail charges were dropped in 1974."

So the robbery was in 1974 or prior.

I'll bet that principal shooting was complete when they realized that they'd need to reshoot the outside, 2nd-unit shots because they couldn't have 2011 cars in a film that was supposed to take place in 2002. So, because they couldn't afford to reshoot a low-budget film, they said "Screw it."

Thats why a plot originally intended to take place 1972+30=2002, takes place in 2011 in the final product.

Film makers make such (cutting room) mistakes all the time.
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