Overacting: Michael Douglas is one choice, especially the angry power speech; a response argues that rage is appropriate to the character. — Bill Simmons
Donald Sutherland is another overacting choice for cartoonish corporate menace and grabbing a subordinate during the crushing-Tom conversation. — Bill Simmons
Dylan Baker is a third overacting choice for signaling his character's untrustworthiness immediately and insistently. — Bill Simmons
Aged best begins with casting Dennis Miller and allowing a comedian to perform his own style, alongside affection for his HBO show and The Net role. — Bill Simmons
Tom's small chair, mocked tie, and steadily diminishing confidence effectively undercut his expected promotion over the course of the day; weekday title cards reinforce the progression. — Bill Simmons
The dehumanizing corporate culture, embodied by Dylan Baker’s automaton-like executive, is an aged-best choice. — Bill Simmons
The discussion of consent that can begin or end at any moment is an aged-best choice, recalling later Me Too debates and the long history of this conversation. — Bill Simmons
The film's clumsy but substantive treatment of social issues is compared with Philadelphia; its anxious straight-white-male rhetoric is seen as anticipating later public discourse. — Bill Simmons
Meredith’s going-down elevator entrance is praised. — Bill Simmons
Sneaking into a hotel room while its occupant approaches remains an effective suspense device. — Bill Simmons
Tom's sudden shower after the encounter is both suspicious and compelling filmmaking as he hides scratches and his wife mentions Meredith's call. A DeRay Davis routine about habitual showers is used to explain the attempted cover. — Bill Simmons
