STORY STUDY - MEDIUM: FILM/THEATER - “Glengarry Glen Ross”

Being a salesman can be a tough racket: you have to do what you’re expected to do on a consistent basis or be fired if and when you hit that slump. The idea of being fired is what motivates these four salesmen to do anything to prevent that from happening, including very illegal things.

Directed by James Foley, and written by David Mamet, based on his play of the same name, Glengarry Glen Ross is the story of a group of salesmen who are verbally abused by a representative (another salesman) of their bosses, telling them that only two of them will be allowed to keep their jobs; the rest will be fired.

The salesmen react in different ways in how they were treated, and come up with a plan to how to keep their jobs.

The next day, they find that the office has been robbed. From there, the events play out in real time so we see how everyone reacts to the situation; all while being individually questioned (off-screen) by a detective.

The original playwright, David Mamet, is the sole screenwriter of this film, and it definitely shows. The film’s driving force is its dialogue and its acting: both heavy factors in what makes a play a play.

In film story structure, there’s what’s called an inciting incident: a moment that happens that propel the events of the story from there. The play has no such moment; in fact I think it happened prior to the start of the play based on one of the character’s dialogue.

I bring up both the film and the play in a single post because, in terms of plot, nothing has changed: in one night, one salesman, Shelley Levene bribes office manager John Williamson for a better lead (which contain contact info for the salesmen to sell upon)

Another salesman, Dave Moss convinces his co-worker, George Aaronow, they should steal the better leads to a competitor.

The last salesman, Ricky Roma, is the top salesman of the company, so he doesn’t have to worry about getting fired. He is, however, mad about the office being robbed in fear of a recent big sale he made last night, and its contract being stolen.

The major difference is this guy: Mr. F*ck You.

(The credits call him Blake, but considering he answers F*ck You when asked what’s his name, I’m calling him that.)

Where the play has no inciting incident, in the film, he IS the inciting incident, giving background of what the central characters situation is, which the characters respond to in their own way.

To be fair, despite the tirade he yells out, it does make him a compelling character, and you legitimately want to know more about him.

So naturally… he’s never seen again… at all. And no, he’s never brought up again.

Look, if anyone was paying attention to the character breakdown and what happens in the latter part of the story, you know exactly it is who robbed the office. There IS a twist at the end, but, as always, I won’t say it here. Let’s just say it uses the “I Never Said It Was Poison” trope. But come on! Watch his entire tirade, and tell me you wouldn’t want a movie just about F*ck You?

Anyways, Glengarry Glen Ross. Like I said, it’s perfectly acted and well written. It’s a character exploration about morally ambiguous people responding to a threat. And don’t go thinking these are weak people who have no choice but to do something drastic; the film and play clearly shows these are not honest people; While Aaronow is possibly the most passive among them, they'll all still lie over the phone and, in Roma’s case, prey upon a possible client’s insecurities in order to make a sale.

It’s an embarrassing story on how I got introduced to this film, but I will say that a few years later, there was a period of time when I was fascinated with films that played out in real time, like an actual play. Glengarry Glen Ross was in my memory, and I decided to not only re-watch it, but also got a chance to see the play when it was revived in New York with Al Pacino, who played Roma in the film, play Levene.

I’m not a fan of the story; in fact it’s centered on a world that I have zero interest in. I just wanted a chance to see a play I had some familiarity with.

Glengarry Glen Ross is an acting film with not much to the plot going on, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a contained story, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy to focus on. Each character gives a lot of monologues, so your mileage may vary on who you find charismatic and compelling or not.