Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
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A group of desperate real-estate salesmen face a high-stakes ultimatum from their corporate office.
The story
The film depicts two days in the lives of four real-estate salesmen and their increasing desperation when the corporate office sends a motivational trainer with the threat that all but the top two salesmen will be fired within one week. The salesmen, including Richard Roma, Shelley "The Machine" Levene, George Aaronow, and Dave Moss, use deceitful and dubious sales tactics to land deals. When the firm's manager, John Williamson, provides them with a limited number of leads for a new development, the pressure mounts. The arrival of Blake, a top salesman sent to motivate the team, forces the men to confront their precarious positions in a high-stakes environment of verbal abuse and professional survival.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Four real-estate salesmen—Richard Roma, George Aaronow, Shelley "The Machine" Leeven, and Dave Moss—work in an office where they use deceptive tactics to sell land. Their situation becomes dire when Blake, a top salesman, is sent to inform them that only the top two closers in the coming week will keep their jobs and gain access to the lucrative Glengarry Highlands leads. Levene, struggling with a personal crisis, tries to bribe the office manager, John Williamson, for better leads. Meanwhile, Moss and Aaronow plot to steal the Glengarry leads to sell to a competitor. Roma, the top closer, successfully maneuvers a potential customer, James Lingk, into a deal, but the situation is complicated by a burglary at the office. When the truth about the stolen leads and the status of various contracts comes to light, the salesmen are forced into a series of confrontations. Leven is eventually caught in a lie by Williamson regarding a deal he didn't actually close, and he is threatened with police involvement. Roma, meanwhile, manages to keep his sale alive through a series of lies, even as the office falls into chaos. The film concludes with the men left to face the consequences of their actions and the reality of their desperate situation.
- First release year
- 1992
- Runtime (minutes)
- 100
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- James Foley
- Writers
- David Mamet · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Al Pacino · Richard Roma; Jack Lemmon · Shelley "The Machine" Levene; Alec Baldwin · Blake; Ed Harris · Dave Moss; Alan Arkin · George Aaronow; Kevin Spacey · John Williamson; Jonathan Pryce · James Lingk
- Genres
- drama
- Themes
- desperation; masculinity
- Tone and mood
- claustrophobic; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- business; sales
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1984 play by David Mamet
- Content notes
- profanity
- Reception
- The film was critically acclaimed and is considered a cult classic with a notable legacy for its dialogue and performances.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 95% · review count: 56; Metacritic · score: 82 · scale: 100 · review count: 30
- Awards and nominations
- Volpi Cup for Best Actor · Best Actor · won
- Production trivia
- The title is derived from the names of two of the fictitious real-estate developments being peddled by the salesmen.; The film's cast is described as one of the best American casts ever assembled.; The 'Always Be Closing' speech by Alec Baldwin's character was created specifically for the film adaptation.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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