I’m tentatively getting the ball rolling here, having just watched Glengarry Glen Ross, and then proudly scratched it off my list of shame. Many years ago, somebody told me that Glengarry Glen Ross was a great film, and I immediately had visions of a drama set high in the Scottish highlands like some Scots version of The Quite Man. Obviously my knowledge of theatre was fairly non-existent back then, because this film is, of course, based on the play by David Mamet, is set in New York, and depicts the desperation of real estate salesmen, scrabbling for good leads, and more than willing to stab each other in the back in the process.
There’s a cast here that needs no introduction: Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, Alec Baldwin..and Johnathon Pryce pops up too.The acting cannot be criticised, but what amazed me most was Jack Lemmon’s performance in the role of Shelley Levene. Pacino is great, but Lemmon is in a league of his own..in a fleeting moment you can see so many emotion pass over his face. One minute I was disgusted by him, the next I was sympathetic. Having only ever really seen him in The Odd Couple and The Apartment, I’d forgotten what a great actor he was.
I’m guessing that some films on my list may be slightly heavy going-perhaps this is why I failed to include 2001-A Space Odyssey. Glengarry Glen Ross, however, was a pleasant surprise-it was a drama the likes of 12 Angry Men, in the way that it was obviously adapted from a play, but yet thanks to strong cast was successfully translated from stage to screen. There’s not much to like in any of these characters, they are the personifications of greed and deceit, yet there is just enough humanity present to allow us to understand their actions. A carefully placed photo of Shelley’s daughter is all it takes to redeem him somewhat in our eyes.
Certainly one to watch again, Glengarry Glen Ross is now off the list!
Gemma 27/01/2013
List of Shame 