Sunday 15 January 2023, Can Dialectics Break Bricks Cinema: Glengarry Glen Ross * by James Foley, script by David Mamet * 1992 * 100 minutes * In English with English subtitles. Doors open at 20:00, film starts at 20:30.
What is important about this flick isn’t so much the director, but its provocative scriptwriter David Mamet (Wag the Dog). The craft of his writing is so powerful it makes the director unimportant, and no matter what theme he takes on, he always elevates it to another level. His punchy razor-sharp dialogue is so unique there is even a term to describe it – ‘Mametspeak’.
In this one he throws us into the real estate world, a place almost as creepy as the banking sector, and it shows how once things start to go wrong, the inherent greed and viciousness of the employees turns inward as they start tearing themselves to shreds. For many, if you want to understand how the guts of big business operates, this is the best film to watch.
During the pandemic we were told to stay at home and chill, but others were more busy. Ruthless speculators like the American investment corporation Blackrock were busy as hell acquiring more spaces in this city so they could leave them empty and eventually jack up the rental prices for a huge profit in the future. When squatters tried occupying one of those empty Blackrock buildings, they were immediately dragged out by the police. Welcome to the dark world of high-finance, where profits matter more than human lives.
And what is just as amazing as the script is the crazy cast cobbled together to speak the dialogue – Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin and old-schooler Jack Lemmon. We’re not a great fans of that genre of films where there are zero women roles of any importance. Still, for the energy in this film it was important to keep the testosterone levels as disfunctionally high as possible.
Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Free entrance. You want to screen a movie, let us know: joe [at] lists [dot] squat [dot] net
