Casey Affleck’s gothic drama “Company” received a lengthy standing ovation at its Venice Film Festival premiere Tuesday night, an emotional moment that came just hours after Affleck revealed his father had recently died. The director and star Nick Nolte appeared visibly moved as the applause stretched past four minutes inside the Sala Grande, with cast members including Indiana Affleck, Emily Alyn Lind, Scoot McNairy, Adelaide Clemens and Caylee Cowan cheering from the audience. Affleck’s brother Ben, whose production company Artists Equity helped finance the film, sat among them, clapping and filming the crowd below.
Set on a single winter night in 1975, “Company” follows a mysterious woman who arrives uninvited at a holiday gathering and begins recounting the story of an aging hermit, played by the 85-year-old Nolte, who takes in a stranded actress during a Colorado blizzard decades earlier. The tale folds into another set even further in the past, weaving together threads the film’s synopsis describes as a meditation on grief, vengeance and forgiveness. The cast also includes Affleck’s teenage son Atticus in his acting debut, alongside his older son Indiana, his longtime partner Cowan, and his own parents.
At a press conference on the Lido, Affleck said the film grew partly out of personal turmoil and unrest he observed in the world around him. He also told reporters that co-star Ben Mendelsohn had traveled to Venice with the cast but returned home early to be with his ailing father. Affleck called directing his sons one of the more rewarding experiences of his career, saying both had grown up immersed in filmmaking and brought an intuitive understanding of the process to their roles.
The premiere marked Affleck’s first film as director since 2019’s “Light of My Life” and his highest-profile project since sexual harassment allegations from two “I’m Still Here” crew members resurfaced years ago, claims Affleck has denied and that were settled out of court. “Company” is competing for the festival’s top prize, the Golden Lion, and does not yet have a distributor.
