Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

A Disappointing Continuation

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Some tips for anyone who had difficulty with this film (from a guy who gained an appreciation for it after his first viewing):Don't go into it expecting a traditional three-act structure with rising/falling action and a resounding conclusion. This is more of a "show about nothing" a la Seinfeld (and even Catcher in the Rye). We're basically just following these quirky characters to see what crazy thing they'll do next.Another lens through which you can view this film: I suspect that Mamet penned this story as a form of therapy. It just seems "too real" to be pure fiction. I think it was cathartic for him to write it, and could potentially be therapeutic for anyone else who's had an awful, high-pressure, job.

This film is undoubtedly one of my favourites of all time and that's because of it's brilliant portrayal of salesmen, it's stellar, sorry interstellar cast and its driving plot.One thing I really liked about this film (and it's Pulitzer prize winning source) is its 100 minute run-time. In that short 100 minutes, the film expressed to me more about the sales business did than Wall Street did in 126 minutes.Unfamiliarity - In this film, we're given an unfamiliar situation. There's no other film like this, so this is the first time we're actually being placed in this sort of situation. That's what gets us intrigued.Familiarity - Majority of the film takes place in one room. That gives us familiarity in terms of setting. We feel like home in that room, in a sense that we know how the characters move inside. The same is with 12 Angry Men and Reservoir Dogs. If unfamiliarity got us started, familiarity keeps us going.Next, the performances. Can we change that Best Actor to Denzel Washington for Malcolm X and that Best Supporting Actor to Al Pacino for Glengarry Glen Ross? Al Pacino is fantastic in this film. Kevin Spacey's performance makes you sympathise with him and hate him at the same time. Jack Lemmon makes you love him. Alan Arkin and Ed Harris are equally great. Alec Baldwin really has "brass balls".On a last note, I cannot talk about this film without commenting on it's fantastic editing. The editing is just marvellous. We cut back and forth and back and forth really fast when the conversation keeps rambling. We feel the conversation's tension and its rhythm when the actors and editors do what they do best.

One can't escape the feeling that it's a play. Very little is invested in the setting - most of the film is in an office. But it stands in contrast with how much is invested in the acting.All the main actors are really salesmen - with their typical salesmen problems. And their annoying habits of bothering their victims as much as possible. As the story unfolds, characters evolve properly. Some don't.The dialogues are intense, as it is written for plays. The mind tricks the salesmen are pulling are just amazing and may be compared to scenes of other great movies like The Wolf of Wall Street.The little substance of the plot - the sales team of a real estate office is put under pressure, as someone robbed it - is not annoying by the drama added. You can just feel Jack Lemon's tiredness of years and years of finding victims.One thing was annoying: once you start to notice it's based on a play, you start to notice the limitations. Dialogues can be endless. There could have been more shots without dialogues. One knows that when one actor leaves the room, another is going to come in.But it's still a very entertaining film for an interesting evening.

My father was a salesman for years. Amway, Jojoba, Legal And General, Ocean Salvage, etc. I would go out with him, a few times at night, and I would sit waiting, may'be two hours. on some occasions. He would come out, holding it in his stride. Had he stirred interest in a potential client, or was it a no show. He had me wondering every time. He was a good bloody salesman, in one job that's bloody hard, where patience and perseverance are tested. You get this vibe, of such such utter desperation, all through this film, set in a rundown real estate office, a perfect set piece, where across the street is their watering hole/Chinese restaurant, which took me back to Cadillac Man. At the moment, things are pretty down at Mitch and Murray, this downtown real estate office, in lower area of New York, where jobs are on the line, and it's employees are given an ear bashing and a hard and nasty word from a boss (Baldwin-explosive and intense) outside of this office. He makes a meal of the role, savoring every moment of his screen time. This cameo, we thanks him as much as we did, Matthew McConaughey's in The Wolf Of Wall Street. Yes, it's harder to sell that great sell and speech. The real thing that works here is the utter desperation of these guys, trying to make a buck, where their potential clients, and no so potential ones, who are sucking them dry, especially Lemmon's wonderfully played character, where one feels his desperation, most. He's acting is top pro, done to such perfection and solid conviction, you don't want to tamper with it, in any way. This character has a lot to worry about. That scene with him, sweet talking the husband of a woman client, where minutes later, he practically shoves the door on him, was so sincere and believable, you would see this scenario happening right in front of you. We have a couple of potentials who turn out to be cuckoo. Things have got so bad, some of our employees, hungry for these new leads, these "Glengarry leads" and are willing to steal, where one resorts to just this, but who could it be. Bring on the thriller element. GGR is compelling viewing all the way through, as are the actors brilliant performances, Al Pacino's character, of course, as hotshot Richard Roma, stealing the limelight, where I too, loved Spacey, as the weak minded galah, running the place, where evidently, this guy shouldn't be. You learn too, salesmen can be such backstabbers, towards their colleague's backs. I was much fascinated by Harris's character, as the much angry and jealous, hotheaded employee, with a sort of bullying nature, his great performance was stacked up beside the others. GGR is driven excitedly by dialogue and commanding acting, where the actual movie script, is almost description non existent, but we know we're safe here, when we're in the hands of David Mamet. You'll love the film as much as Pacino's voracious moments, and outbursts. The film has been done solid, thanks to the acting and script, and too done under the wonderful direction and watchful eye of a versatile director, who makes movies, that I like. If you're a talk show host, you should see Talk Radio, if you're in real estate, you should see Glengarry Glen Ross.