The $8.99 DVD review: Glengarry Glen Ross

by: sam Bailey
Staff Writer

  In Glengarry Glen Ross, which began as a Pulitzer Prize-winning play and was adapted for the big screen in 1992, director David Mamet’s talents for both dialogue and character are brought to the forefront, and the result is an absolute joy to behold.       

 Glengarry  Glen Ross follows the deception and depression of a small Chicago real estate office, and the five salesman in various states of physical and economic decline who inhabit it.  As the film opens, a wonderfully shot close-up reveals a salesman speaking rapidly into a phone. 

He caresses the words with the rich tones of a matinee host, promising untold riches that he is willing to “share” with the lucky person on the other end of the line. As the shot widens, we see that this altruistic man is a rumpled, gray haired relic. 

His suit is cheap and poorly fitted, and he is huddled in a telephone booth, not a decadent office.  Shelly “The Machine” Levine (Jack Lemmon) plays his game on the phone, building himself up, but its clear with his next call that his life is anything but miserable.  In the adjacent booth, a younger salesman, Dave Moss (Ed Harris) almost berates the “deadbeat” he has on the line, impatiently declaring that he only has “48 hours to make you a lot of money".      

  Moss and Levine are not the only ones having a hard night.  An arrogant executive from the home office (Alec Baldwin) gives the rumpled salesmen an update on the month‘s sales contest.  First prize is a brand new Cadillac. Second prize, a set of steak knives.  Third prize, unemployment. 

A chalk board dominates the cluttered office, with the names of the four salesman and their current take for the month. At the close of the presentation, Baldwin’s character dangles a stack of pink index cards in front of the weary salesmen.      

 “These are the new leads.  The Glengarry leads, and to you, they’re golden,” he says, pulling the stack back protectively.  “And you don’t get them.  They’re for closers.”     

   These valuable leads are in the possession of the icy office manager, John Williamson (Kevin Spacey).  As the night wears on, Roma works successfully towards yet another sale, Moss and Aaron (Alan Arkin) plot to steal the Glengarry leads, and Levine desperately and pathetically attempts to buy the leads from Williamson.    

The next morning finds shattered glass littering the office, no phones, and no leads.  Williamson is desperate to discover who has taken them, and he interrogates each salesmen in turn with a police detective, while the others detonate under the pressure.  In one of the best sequences of the movie, Pacino and Levine must play a little vignette to prevent a nervous prospect from backing out of a sale.      

 Glengarry Glen Ross is a character-driven piece of monumental proportions. The story itself certainly doesn’t inspire fascination, and there are no good guys to root for. The five main characters twist, scheme and complain, and at the end of the relatively short movie, you’d be forgiven for feeling nothing has really been resolved. 

But you won’t care.  The language alone keeps the viewer riveted, and the superb acting of each and every member of the cast makes this an invaluable addition to anyone’s collection.       

 An ensemble piece in the true sense of the term, Glengarry Glen Ross resists the temptation to showcase any one character above the others, and all are given ample opportunity to shine.  A wonderfully scripted duet between Harris and Arkin is choreographed as carefully as a dance number as the two talk themselves in circles. 

Spacey, in an early role before he really became a household name, is perfect as the weasel-like office manager.  Baldwin’s characte evokes hatred from both the audience and the characters. According to director James Foley, Baldwin was purposefully kept apart from the other actors during filming to reinforce his status as a resented outsider.  

In  the greatest performance of his career, Jack Lemmon is at times purposefully painful to watch as the downtrodden Levine.    Glengarry Glen Ross is often spoken of as the modern version of “Death of a Salesman”, and on that level it works.  It would be well-worth the price at $29.99, and is a total gift at $8.99.

One-Time Viewing:  Yes
Repeat Viewing:  Yes
Worth $ 8.99?:  Absolutely