Glengarry Glen Ross
Glengarry Glen Ross
R | 28 September 1992 (USA)
Glengarry Glen Ross Trailers

When an office full of Chicago real estate salesmen is given the news that all but the top two will be fired at the end of the week, the atmosphere begins to heat up. Shelley Levene, who has a sick daughter, does everything in his power to get better leads from his boss, John Williamson, but to no avail. When his coworker Dave Moss comes up with a plan to steal the leads, things get complicated for the tough-talking salesmen.

Reviews
StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.
Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.
AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
Brooklynn There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.
adammlewis Although this film is primarily set in just 2 locations, its an absolute belter. Superb performances from the best line-up of actors I've ever seen in one movie along with a compelling script. Alec Baldwin's speech is arguably the best thing I have ever witnessed on screen. If you like dialogue filled Tarantino scenes, check this film out asap!
thejcowboy22 One of the greatest cons of all time is the sale. Convincing someone to buy a product, even if they are just looking or vaguely interested. The art of the sale. I admire my Son cause he has the gift of selling. Starting out as a young car salesman in Rhode Island My son learned his trade by studying body gestures and facial expressions. Went to seminars just to learn how to win over someone's confidence implementing empathy with the customer, staying focused on your goals with a certain responsibility supplementing persistence and optimism despite the numerous rejections. Many intricate parts to the art of the sale but what it takes to sell real estate "BRASS BALLS". Glengarry Glen Ross is such a picture as it takes a look at the underbelly world of sales, Following the lives of four real estate salesmen. Unscrupulous, cunning and crafty but reaching a dead end with empty leads dispensed by the office manager Williamson (Kevin Spacey). The story draws the initial attention to a slumping salesman Shelley Levene (Jack Lemmon) who is on the phone discussing a medical issue about his ailing daughter. Shelley's daughter's illness never goes any further in detail but Shelly needs to close an account for her medical care. Now, in his early Sixties, Shelley Levene was once a dominant force in the real estate game. Shelly, has fallen on hard times and Williamson lets him know it. A meeting is held in the home office as a brash well dressed man enters the Room as he see Shelly pouring coffee and orders him to put the coffee down. "Coffee is for closer!" exhorts the tall stranger who's name is Blake (Alec Baldwin). This scene is worth watching as the revolting Blake tells the dyer realities of not closing a customer with the consequences of losing their jobs. Blake continues his sermon to these frustrated salesmen telling them either they sell these properties and use the leads you already have.Alec Baldwin gives a speech that reminds me of the movie Patton starring George C, Scott with strength and conviction yet arrogant to his audience as Dave Moss (Ed Harris) questions why he wastes his time preaching how great salesman he is to us losers. Blake's brash reply, "Cause Mitch and Murray asks me to." In Blake's hands are the New Leads but he indicates you don't get them. Shelley insists the existing leads are a dead end. Blake drives into high gear as he tells them their wimps and that he could close them himself and make $15,000 dollars tonight on those leads. Meanwhile Rick Roma (Al Pacino) is in a local restaurant/bar trying to sell properties to an unsure, indecisive buyer James Lingk (Jonathan Pryce). Roma does a fine job playing on Lingk's insecurities.Making the sale sound like more of an opportunity than a purchase and done quite eloquently. Shelley desperate due to his daughter's health tries to meet with Williamson to get the new leads Bribing Williamson with money he doesn't have. Williamson tells Shelly forget it; no chance as he leaves Shelley in the rain. In an another car Moss meets with another salesman George Aaronow (Alan Arkin)who seems a bit inexperienced at this sales job as Moss has a plan to have George break in the office and steels the new leads and sells them to a competitor. George wants no part of that scheme. We follow Shelley to one of his potential sales but the persons isn't interested in buying. I felt that scene was important to show the frustration and hopeless downward spiral salesmanship can become. The authenticity of the scene shows a last ditch effort for a sale vanquish in failure. Poor over-the- hill Shelley wearing his Fishing hat and raincoat gives you empathy in the Shelley character as the next morning's events will show. Desperation can drive a man to do anything. Alan Arkin's Character shows a believable lack of confidence and tremendous helpings of paranoia. Pacino and Lemmon work well together in the office scenes as authorities close in on the suspect. Spoiler Alert!!! but worth seeing The climactic ending. Lemmon is verbally pounding Spacey against the ropes and this leads to a dramatic turnabout as the Levene character incriminates himself and Spacey has the upper hand. Shelley breaks down in shame would make Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman look minor by comparison. I felt that Spacey had the best lines in the movie among this all-star cast. This reminds me of the Ray Charles song entitled "BUSTED" as one of the lines was ,"I am no thief but a man could go wrong when he's busted. Shelley's desperation lead him down the wrong path as his best years are behind him in many ways . Sorry realistic commentary by screen writer David Mamet.I give this classic movie 7 sets of steak knives.
Patrick Nackaert One can't escape the feeling that it's a play. Very little is invested in the setting - most of the film is in an office. But it stands in contrast with how much is invested in the acting.All the main actors are really salesmen - with their typical salesmen problems. And their annoying habits of bothering their victims as much as possible. As the story unfolds, characters evolve properly. Some don't.The dialogues are intense, as it is written for plays. The mind tricks the salesmen are pulling are just amazing and may be compared to scenes of other great movies like The Wolf of Wall Street.The little substance of the plot - the sales team of a real estate office is put under pressure, as someone robbed it - is not annoying by the drama added. You can just feel Jack Lemon's tiredness of years and years of finding victims.One thing was annoying: once you start to notice it's based on a play, you start to notice the limitations. Dialogues can be endless. There could have been more shots without dialogues. One knows that when one actor leaves the room, another is going to come in.But it's still a very entertaining film for an interesting evening.
SlyGuy21 Hard to believe this is based on a play. I didn't have any idea going in how complicated this movie would be. I mean it's pretty small scale in terms of budget, there's probably only 10 set-pieces in the whole movie, but I think that works well with an adaptation of a play. It kind of reminds me of "Sweeney Todd" actually, not content wise, but using limited sets to maximum effect. The whole cast really does get the full use out of each scene, and even though it's less than 2 hours, you get to know all of them by the end. Speaking of the cast, this is all-star to the max. You have Pacino, Harris, Spacey, Lemmon, and Baldwin all in the same movie! And an interesting bit of trivia, the full cast are never all in the same scene together, I like that subtlety, it really does make me think I'm watching a play. Funny, clever, and an all-star cast, what's better than that?