GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS. Directed by James Foley; written by David Mamet; produced by Jerry Tokofsky and Stanley R. Zupnik for New Line Cinema. Starring Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris and Alan Arkin. Rated R. (language)
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Will high school students 30 years from now be assigned Glengarry Glen Ross to watch (or the play from which it's taken to read) as they watch and/or read Death of a Salesman now? It's a possibility. GGR has some of the same themes as Arthur Miller's classic play. And, like Salesman, it's very well-written, a real actor's plum; and it's also very depressing.
Set mostly in the sales office of Premier Properties, (the title is the name of a particularly lucrative land development) the movie follows 24 hours in the lives of four very different salesmen and their office manager. Times are hard, and only Ricky (Pacino), the firm's ace, are doing any selling at all. To make matters worse, the never-seen Mitch and Murray from "downtown" are stepping up their demands for results. In the new sales contest, first prize is a Cadillac, second prize is a set of steak knives, and third prize is a pink slip.
Lemmon's Shelley is the character that calls most of the Arthur Miller similarities to mind. Years ago, he was the ace of the office (at least that's the way he remembers it). But he's into a streak of really bad luck at the present. I don't have to tell you what a great actor Lemmon is, and Shelley is a role meaty enough for him to be able really to strut his stuff.
Pacino likewise doesn't disappoint with the glib Ricky; nor does Harris with his calculating, faintly sinister Moss, nor Arkin with his confused George. I was particularly impressed with relative newcomer Spacey, who plays the unresponsive office manager. He can convey a lot of character insight by maintaining a purposefully bland exterior in the face of the salesmen's histrionics.
Spacey plays the least likable character in the movie, but then nobody is very likable in GGR, and this is a major problem as far as its entertainment value is concerned. It's a great actors' showcase, and may even become a classic. But it's not much fun to watch.
October 28, 1992