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Updated 3 months ago,January 24, 2025
BeforeThe Wolf of Wall Street, before HBOsIndustry, there wasGlengarry Glen Ross.
Possibly the best film about capitalism ever made,Glengarry Glen Rosshauntingly recreates its seismic forces in the interpersonal relationships between lowly salesmen in a dingy real estate office.
Each interaction between these sharply drawn characters is a collision of constantly shifting power dynamics as their values rise and fall like so many stocks.
Glengarry Glen Ross
Small in scale, the films ideas are impressively far-reaching: it captures the desperation that fuels the capitalist spirit, as well as the absurd macho rhetoric.
It understands that success is ultimately dependent on someone elses failure and that the limp-wristed regulation of the law pales in comparison to landing on the wrong side of a deal.
Oh, and did I mention its an ensemble piece starring Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Jack Lemmon, Alan Arkin, Alec Baldwin, and Kevin Spacey?
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Superbly written (adapted by David Mamet from his own play) and about as well acted as any movie ever made (if I had to rank the performances, Id go Lemmon, Pacino, Harris, Baldwin, Spacey, Arkin).
