An amazing ‘little film’ packed with star performances with script adapted from his original play by David Mamet. This may be the best male-ensemble film of the past half-century.
The plot is about desperate real estate salesmen looking for big scores by defrauding vulnerable people. Every actor in this classic is excellently outstanding: Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Alec Baldwin, and Jonathan Pryce (in a supporting, but career-defining role).
Baldwin kicks off things as a foul-mouthed successful head-office motivator sent to criticize a small urban real-estate office’s weak, unlucky salesmen. He is an asshole-devil personified right down to his watch and car.
There follow interesting duo scenes such as a highly-aggressive Ed Harris trying to convince a cowardly Alan Arkin to rob the office after-hours to get the ‘good’ Glengarry leads.
In the sleazy restaurant-bar across the street, hot-shot Al Pacino uses all manner of corrupt appeals to sell land to shnook client Jonathan Pryce. There is also a memorable follow-up scene in which the henpecked Pryce confronts Pacino, to get his cheque back, in the divey office after it’s been robbed.
Ironically admired by Pacino, veteran ‘Shelly the Machine’ (played by Jack Lemmon) is the most pathetic, desperate salesman of all–unable to make an actual sale if his life depended on it. His scenes with Pacino, with clients in person and on the phone are dishonestly built on continuous lies and fraudulent representations. Imagine an ultra-desperate Willy Loman.
Alan Arkin is more understated, but as confused as any of the others, trying to hang on to his honesty as the police come to investigate the robbery. Though he is the branch boss, Kevin Spacey cannot be trusted and is shamelessly willing to accept bribes from his own workers, and when crunch comes to crunch, it is he who easily turns in the salesman who did the mysterious robbery and couldn’t bribe him enough.
The movie’s tense atmosphere is 100% believably effective from the credits onward including: a late night street scene by an el in a derelict part of a city, non-stop pouring rain and thunder throughout act 1, moody jazz snippets by Wayne Shorter, Al Jarreau, and David Sanbourn, brilliant cinematography (Juan Ruiz Anchia) and direction (James Foley), with absolutely nothing getting in the way of the uniformly tour-de-force acting.
This is a must-see classic film about the American Dream from the perspective of men, notably salesmen who have to prostitute themselves and any moral values to achieve high sales figures and a contest Cadillac offered by Baldwin’s devil-figure.
*My only caution is about the realistic dialogue language; it is the saltiest of male diction imaginable throughout the hour and 40 minute assault on whatever values a viewer may hold dear. Not recommended for family viewing. Highly recommended, though, for the fabulous acting, the intense characterizations, the incredibly powerful scenes between duos, and the indelible messages re. corruption and the myriad ways of loserness, North American-caucasian style. 10 out of 10.
Bonus: the 10 Year Anniversary double DVD shown above also contains several extras, the best of which are a feature called “Always Be Closing” which mentions key salesmen movies and features Albert Sayles, co-director of the celebrated Salesman documentary, Lemmon on Charley Rose, and insightful audio interviews with Baldwin and Arkin, the latter who says that this was his most challenging, exacting role ever–that he had to have different thoughts each time he uttered a syllable!
Two other classic salesmen works:
1949 and 1969, respectively.