Glengarry Glen Ross is a Dry Sales Panacea, a B12 Shot of Cold-Calling Motivation
Writing your own check as a salesman is a tough racket. Few are cut out to sustain themselves on fluctuating pay and the ever-nagging feeling that the last sale wasn’t nearly enough for the day’s quota. These may seem like trivial pressures, but it is this exact sentiment that drives the all-star cast of Glengarry Glen Ross, the 1992 drama written by David Mamet and Directed by James Foley.
Having worked as a sales manager for an upscale retail establishment that shall remain nameless, I once watched this movie every night. It was a dark time in my life, but this movie was the motivational fuel I was starved for, and my sales reflected that consumption. Glengarry Glen Ross is a dry sales panacea, and when absorbed by the right eyes, a B12 shot of cold-calling motivation. The film is brought to life by incredible performances from some of Hollywood’s best actors. Jack Lemmon’s role as aging salesman Shelley Levene is one of his best and should be studied by anyone considering acting as a profession. Al Pacino plays the top salesman on the board, Ricky Roma, while Alan Arkin (George Aaronow) and Ed Harris (Dave Moss) round out the room as the struggling men of the office; all of whom are managed by Kevin Spacey’s John Williamson.
The tension of the pushing and pulling these characters regularly go through in sales gets amplified when the leads are stolen from Williamson’s office. This kicks off an interesting turn of events as each salesman becomes a suspect, driving up the heat in an already stifling office.
Every scene is filled with tense exchanges between this brilliant cast, and we are shown and told a myriad of details, inflections, and nuances by each actor as they each bring their character to life. The film takes place over the better part of a day, and this short time is all that’s needed for each character to come out fully fleshed and uniquely identifiable. A pox on acting and writer’s workshops, certain films capture every ounce of what these classes try to replicate, and Glengarry Glen Ross is one of those rarities. Kevin Spacey would later reflect on this as one of the most educating experiences of his career. Arkin reportedly took a substantial pay-cut simply for the chance to act alongside Pacino and Lemmon.
Here are my two favorite scenes of the movie. You tell me if I’m wrong about my assessment.
The script was tailor-made for a cast with acting chops as refined and indomitable as this one, and it doesn’t fail to deliver the kind of no-nonsense approach that permeate Mamet’s scripts, like The Untouchables and Homicide. Each of his films are about something crucial, a necessary component or ideal that his characters are desperate to obtain and secure. Glengarry Glen Ross is a criticism of the dangers of capitalism centered around stolen sales leads that will leave even the most hard-boiled sales reps shook .
