Glengarry Glen Ross - Sterling Sales Drama

                                        "A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Closing. Always be closing."  In today's marketplace of cutthroat competition, the bottom line is all that matters. If you don't perform, you're out on the street. In order to survive in this dog-eat-dog environment, many individuals have to give in to their worst instincts. Those are the assumptions given in the riveting screen adaptation of David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross. This is one of the most powerful and convincing films ever made about the, ways the human spirit is violated in the workplace. 
                                                And this little gem of a movie contains an unbelievable star cast - Al Pacino. Jack Lemmon. Ed Harris. Alan Arkin. Kevin Spacey. Alec Baldwin. Among them, they have amassed an astonishing 25 Oscar nominations and five victories, with each of them being nominated at least once.  

Plot 
     There are four salesmen working in a New York City real estate office: hot-shot Ricky Roma (Al Pacino), who's raking in commissions by the handful; old-timer Shelley Levine (Jack Lemmon), who has lost his touch; tough-talker Dave Moss (Ed Harris), who's looking for a way to screw the management; and nervous George Aaronow (Alan Arkin), who's in almost as bad a shape as old Shelly. Enter Blake (Alec Baldwin), a suit from uptown who's sent in to give a  pep talk. This month's sales contest, he informs them, will have new rules. First prize is a car. Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize - you're fired. So two of the four salesmen in the office are about to get pink slips. The guy who runs the office, John Williamson (Kevin Spacey), couldn't be happier. He doesn't like any of them, least of all Shelley, who constantly reprimands him. What follows is a perfect example of how people can turn on each other with their livelihood on the line.


Analysis
           Watching Al Pacino play loudmouth Ricky Roma, you can’t miss the sheer labor that is acting. Every moment, the hand gestures, the posturing, the expressions are in place, never relaxing, never slipping. Kevin Spacey turns in a fantastic, restrained performance as the rule-bound office manager. Jack Lemmon in   plays an down-on-luck salesman, with appropriately downbeaten panic. Alec Baldwin appears very briefly in the beginning as the head-office guy giving the branch office an ultimatum to shape-up or ship-out. Its an extremely nasty character he plays, and Baldwin gives an effectively coldblooded performance without raising his voice.  
               Director James Foley, stays amazingly true to the Mamet's play. He delivers the message with urgency and conviction. Written by David Mamet, this film has one of the best adapted screenplay, ever. It remains gripping and captivating. 

                       Glengarry Glen Ross is about the dark side of the American dream.In the movie Shelley comments, " The American Dream is something that can always be misused-that if you work hard, you can do anything and be successful. But the definition of success is almost always somebody else’s when it should be your own".  The movie depicts the extreme greed of capitalism. 
The foul-mouthed bravado of these men doesn't drive away the bitter knowledge of their own powerlessness. 

                     Glengarry Glen Ross is a modern day prophecy , whose truths about the workplace  deserve to be heard and heeded. For anyone who loves sharp dialogue, compelling characters, Glengarry Glen Ross is not to be missed.  It's as unique a motion picture today as it was in 1992, and it has lost none of its power or relevance. 

Trailer:

Glengarry Glen Ross - Imdb