Review of Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) by A Pig In A Cage O — 26 Jan 2009

One of the greatest Ensemble casts ever to be rounded up. One of the best screenplay ever written. One of the greatest directorial jobs ever done. One of the greatest films of all time. A truly unique, interesting and impressive film. A feast for the eyes and ears; a never disappointing film.

Jack Lemmon is Shelley "The Machine" Levene-A loveable old timer who has been in the business for years and is now becoming desperate for a good lead.

Jack Lemmon's performance is an outstanding one which has had a notable impact on pop culture; for instance, where would loser Gil from The Simpsons be without the film? His presence completes the circle of interesting and different characters and he was perfectly cast, like everyone else in the film. His back tracking and stuttering way of speaking was delivered flawlessly and he handled the script without imperfections.

Al Pacino is Richard Roma-The leader on the sales board with a short temper.

The character was perfect for Al Pacino; it allows him to show off his perfect acting, with the angry speeches filled with expletives only Pacino could deliver to such realistic effect. Not only does Pacino get some of the best lines from the brilliant script, his way with the words is impressive. His character is memorable and the Oscar nomination was a well deserved one. I need to see Gene Hackman's winning performance from Unforgiven yet, but I?m sure the Academy had a difficult decision on their hands in the 1993 ceremony.

Kevin Spacey is John Williamson-The uptight office boss with little care for the others.

As always, Kevin Spacey shines. His character is one you love to hate and Spacey manages to draw that feeling from you with the remarkable talent which won him Oscars for The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, two other modern greats.

Ed Harris is Dave Moss-The most confident of all the employee's.

His character is one you vary between liking and hating him. He is one of the most confident of the workers and you like him when he doesn't take the shit some of the others take, but you hate him when he loses his temper at the wrong people, such as Shelley Levene, the one who doesn't deserve it. The portrayal Harris gives is outstanding. He delivers the verbal duals with the other characters with a great talent and his back and forth dialogue with George makes for some of the best parts of the film.

Alan Arkin is George Aaronow-A worrier and subtly angry co-worker.

He may be the next most likeable character after Shelley Levene. Alan Arkin shows off his impressive talent with great facial expression. These expressions portraying the worrier his character is realistically. He shines in his scenes with Ed Harris the most, his talent being the most exposed in those parts of the film.

Alec Baldwin is Blake-An arrogant motivator. The motivations, however, are far from that, but are instead vile bullying of the others.

Alec Baldwin, although his role is brief, is included in one of the most memorable scenes of the film, and movie history. And he makes that scene his. With what sounds like one of the most difficult parts to learn, he shows flawless acting skills and develops his character marvellously in the short time he is given to do so which is a fantastic achievement. In his just over 5 minutes role, you already know he is an arrogant person who isn't really there to help, but there to bully and show off. He is the best character of the film and one of the best of all time.

Jonathan Pryce is James Lingk-A naive customer, the only buyer we get a real insight to.

Jonathan Pryce is great in this role. His body language really does convey the nervousness and naivety of the character. He is probably the most innocent of the characters, getting caught up in the sales war and the best thing about Pryce's performance is how much he allows you to be sympathetic with him. Although he is brief, you can understand how he feels perfectly.

This is a film with a perfect screenplay from David Mamet, impeccable directing from James Foley, who uses both style and substance. The moves of the camera are mesmerising, but he doesn't just pay attention to the look, he pays attention to the substance too. With the factors of the exceptional acting, directing, and writing, the result is an un-missable modern classic.