Review of Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) by Daniel A — 02 Mar 2011

A distinctly cynical but witty drama, that pokes fun at the world of professional sales, and features one of the best ensemble casts of the nineties.

James Foley takes a step up from directing Madonna videos to craft this entertaining drama that will speak to anyone who's ever had to work a job they've hated. Set in the office of a Chicago-based real estate agent, the film follows its floundering employees who are given an ultimatum of closing a deal or losing their job. It's a testosterone fuelled marketplace which sees some employees charm their way to success and others plummet to new lows in order to avoid the chopping block.

In terms of the cast, things really couldn't get better. Jack Lemmon leads the team with a sympathetic turn as down-on-his-luck Shelley Levene. Once the biggest man in the office, recent years have seen him fall to the bottom of the heap, overtaken by younger and more ruthless salesmen. His performance is one of the film's best, as Lemmon really captures the audience's sympathy with his desperate portrayal. Alongside him Alan Arkin and Ed Harris play less likeable but equally troubled salesmen, and both bring their A-game to the roles. Similarly Kevin Spacey stars as their inept office manager, while Alec Baldwin puts in a great supporting performance despite only appearing in one scene throughout the whole movie. His monologue here is one of the most memorable I think I've ever witnessed. British actor Jonathan Pryce also stars as an unsuspecting buyer, targeted by a slick salespitch made by Ricky Roma; the office's top dog.

Played brilliantly by Al Pacino, the Roma character is a foul-mouthed hothead who knows how to make a sale. Pacino brings a huge amount of life to the role, standing out from the entire cast and showing once again just what a commanding screen presence he is. In 1993 Pacino received Oscar nominations for his work both here and in Scent of a Woman. Of course the Academy went for his baity role in the latter, but in terms of the better performance, I found his work here to be less contrived and simply more entertaining. This is a performance any who consider themselves a Pacino fan should see.

It should be noted that the film is quite dialogue heavy, and that may put some viewers off. However personally I feel the well-written albeit wordy screenplay acts as one of the film's strengths, filled with witty exchanges and providing great material for the talented cast to play with. That being said certain scenes have a tendency to drag, and though the film is generally well paced and by no means overstays its welcome at just 96 minutes, there are still one or two occasions where Foley could have tightened things up.

On the whole however, this is a very worthy drama featuring a host of fine performances, making it easily one of my favourite films of its year.