The film is notorious for its use of profanity, which may put off some, but those of us who have seen a bit of the real world may be able to vouch that such language is not uncommon in certain work environments that are exclusively male.

This acidic comedy focuses on career struggles of sales people, all desperate souls, living by their wits and trying to survive as players in a zero sum game. It has been said that this is a story for everyone who works for a living. Mamet’s black comedy is a powerful commentary on the way in which the world of business often confines and consumes business.

Glengarry Glen Ross had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival where Jack Lemmon won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor. It was critically well-received with highly positive reviews by most of the major critics. Al Pacino was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the film.

Plot
The film shows parts of two days in the lives of four real estate agents. They become desperate when the corporate office ("downtown") sends Blake (Alec Baldwin), to "motivate" them by announcing, in a torrent of verbal abuse, that within a week all except the top two salesmen will be fired.

Shelley Levene (Jack Lemmon) has not made a sale for some time. He is desperate for money, mainly because his daughter is very ill and the medical charges are enormous; he knows that he will lose his job soon if he cannot turn things around. He tries to convince office manager John Williamson (Kevin Spacey) to give him some of "the Glengarry leads" – names and phone numbers of promising potential clients for expensive properties the firm will be selling in the near future. Williamson refuses. Levene tries first to first charm Williamson, then to threaten him, and finally to bribe him. Williamson is willing to sell some of the prime leads, but demands cash in advance. Levene cannot come up with the cash and is constrained to leave without any good leads to work on.

Dave Moss (Ed Harris) and George Aaronow (Alan Arkin) are complaining about Mitch and Murray, the big bosses. Moss tells Aaronow that they need to strike back at Mitch and Murray by stealing all the Glengarry leads and selling them to another real estate agency. Moss's plan would require Aaronow to break into the office, stage a burglary, and steal all the prime leads. Aaronow wants to have no role in the plan, but Moss intimidates him, saying that Aaronow is already an accomplice, legally, simply because he listened to the idea.

Blake (Alec Baldwin) motivates the other salesmen.

Ricky Roma (Al Pacino), the office's top "closer," delivers a long, disjointed but compelling monologue to a meek, middle-aged man named James Lingk (Jonathan Pryce). Roma does not bring up the real estate he wants to sell to Lingk until the very end. Instead, Roma preys upon Lingk's insecurities, and his sense that he has never done anything adventurous with his life. Lingk sees in Roma all the virtues he lacks: virility, confidence, a sense of adventure.

The next day, the salesmen come into work to find that their offices have been burgled and the Glengarry leads have been stolen as well. Williamson and the police question each of the salesmen in private. Lingk comes into to tell Roma that he and his wife want their money back. Williamson, unaware that Roma is trying to confuse Lingk about the sale, lies that they already took his money to the bank. Upset, Lingk rushes out of the office and Roma berates Williamson for what he has done. Roma enters Williamson's office to take his turn being interrogated by the police and Levene, proud of a sale he made the night before, takes the opportunity to mock Williamson in private. In his zeal to emasculate Williamson as Williamson has done to him, he inadvertently reveals that he knows Williamson actually left Lingk's check on his desk; something only the man who broke into the office after Williamson had left for the night would know. He eventually breaks down, and admits that he and Moss conspired to steal the leads to give to a competitor. Williamson pretends to consider a bribe from Levene in return for keeping quiet to the police, but eventually reveals to Levene that the people to whom he made the sale are crazy and have no money, and that he has no interest in helping Levene for the simple reason that Williamson dislikes him. The film ends as Levene walks, defeated, into Williamson's office where the police are waiting--Roma walks out of the office for lunch, and Aaronow continues his sales as usual.

Mamet's dialogue has a kind of logic, a cadence; there is great energy in it. You can see the joy with which these actors get their teeth into these great lines, after living through movies in which flat dialogue serves only to advance the story.

Cast and Characters
• Jack Lemmon as Shelley "The Machine" Levene: He is an older man, a once-successful and respected salesman who has recently fallen on hard times, and has not closed a big deal for a long time. Lemmon said of his character, "Shelly's actions question where the morals and ethics are in America and how they have eroded in the quest for success".

• Al Pacino as Ricky Roma He is the most successful salesman in the office. He is ruthless, dishonest and immoral, but succeeds because he has a talent for figuring out a client's weaknesses and crafting a pitch that will exploit those weaknesses. He's quite full of himself.

• Ed Harris as Dave Moss: He is a big-mouthed salesman with big dreams and schemes. Harris describes his character as "the kind of guy who, when anything's wrong, absolves himself but blames everybody else".

• Alan Arkin as George Aaronow : He is an aging and nervous salesman with low self-esteem who lacks confidence and hope. Despite this, he means well.

• Kevin Spacey as John Williamson: He is the office manager. The salesmen despise Williamson, but need him desperately because he is the one who hands out the sales leads. Spacey saw his character as "the catalyst for events, since people are either struggling for or against him".

• Alec Baldwin as Blake: He is brought in by Mitch and Murray to motivate the salesmen in a ruthless manner.

• Jonathan Pryce as James Lingk: He is a timid, middle-aged man who becomes Roma's latest client. Lingk is easily susceptible to being manipulated.

Previewed by: Mr. C Prakash Reddy
cpr@ibsaf.org