Casey Affleck's 'Company' Premieres at Venice, Reviewed as Gothic Anthology of Campfire Tales

Casey Affleck's third film as a director, titled Company, premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was reviewed by The Guardian's culture desk as a gothic anthology film built around the device of a mysterious stranger telling stories on a dark winter's night.

According to the review, the film begins in December 1975 before its narrative shifts backward through time to 1953, then 1903, and eventually to Europe at the end of the plague era. The reviewer described the structure as episodic, with each tale sparked by the one before it, likening the film's rambling, theatrical style to a "creepy cracker-barrel Jackanory."

The cast includes Nick Nolte, who plays a hermit mourning his lost daughter, and Ben Mendelsohn, who portrays a harsh, sardonic farmer prone to reaching for his handgun. The reviewer suggested both characters seem destined for violent ends within the film's stories.

The review characterized Company as containing superstition, murder and a range of human oddities, including an old hermit living in a shack and dark happenings in a woodshed. The critic noted the film explores themes of mysterious strangers and wronged men throughout its anthology structure.

While praising elements of the film as enjoyable, The Guardian's review also noted that many of its eccentricities felt somewhat manufactured and self-consciously strange, describing the overall work as "diverting" rather than groundbreaking.

Company represents Affleck's third outing as a film director. The screening took place as part of the Venice Film Festival's program, though further details on distribution or additional cast and crew were not specified in the available review.