Its worth the price of admission just to hear Sean Connery try to pronounce the word "booze".

Yes, its a corny flick but it is a darn good looking one and David Mamet's dialog is wonderful. It even makes Kevin Costner's "aw-shucks" turn as Elliot Ness bearable.




Screenwriters: David Mamet (Redbelt)
Director: Brian De Palma (The Black Dahlia)
Actors: Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves), Sean Connery (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), Robert De Niro (Raging Bull), Andy Garcia (Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead) and Charles Martin Smith (Left Behind: World at War)

Labels: Andy Garcia, David Mamet, film, Kevin Costner, movie trailer, Robert De Niro, Sean Connery

My long-suffering wife had it right when she tagged all David Mamet as being “guy stuff”. Women can certainly enjoy David Mamet’s writing but his plays and scripts have a definite masculine core to them. His men are purely American, aggressive and smart but foiled by powers seemingly beyond their control. Their frustrations erupt in snaps of invective-laced dialog and unstable logic.

Mamet’s films have been a gallery of uneven results. On one hand, he’s produced the enjoyable, comfortable Things Change, complex and ultimately wandering films like House of Games and Homicide while also making incoherent messes like Spartan and Heist. It seems as though half the time his productions get out of his hands. This outing is probably his best directorial work on film.

Chiwetel Ejiofor (American Gangster) gives a notable performance as Mike Terry, a committed mixed-martial arts instructor who is forced to battle his ideals when financial ruin pushes him towards selling himself out to prize fighting. Ejiofor is very impressive in this role. Not only is the role obviously very physical, he sells the idea that he’s a top competitor quite easily, but he is also asked to present a man who is very controlled yet approachable. Terry is a good man who seems liberated by the inner control he finds in jujitsu. His small school is a labor of love not profit. When things turn sour for him and the pressures build, Terry’s ideals are challenged. Ejiofor masterfully presents this internal conflict with a leveled performance. Chiwetel Ejiofor isn’t well known, but his face may be familiar to the twelve people who made it through Children of Men. This performance is an absolute career maker. Every once in a while an actor who’s been languishing in supporting roles will get an opportunity, either with a rich support role (Vincent D'Onofrio as Private Pile in Full Metal Jacket) or a more prominent role in a smaller film such as this. When they get that good role, they knock it out of the park and the audience is left sitting thinking “where did this guy come from?” The problem here? No one is going to see this performance because this film has been overlooked.

This is a guy movie with brains. Despite it being penned by one of the great living American writers and befitting his impressive resume, this is a movie that can be enjoyed by most guys. Terry’s struggle to keep his dignity and this livelihood is something most people should be able to identify with. The fact that he gets to do so by beating the tar out of other men is just icing on the dramatic cake. Mamet writes some fantastic scenes and drafts some interesting characters, as one would expect; thankfully he also doesn’t skimp on the fighting.

This is a film that is worth searching out. It is a shame it was in and out of release so quickly because more people should have had the chance to see it. Put this in your Netflix queue or remember it the next time what you want is out down at Blockbuster.


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Labels: Alice Braga, Chiwetel Ejiofor, David Mamet, Emily Mortimer, film, movie review, Tim Allen

This adaptation of David Mamet's 1984 Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning play of the same name, is brilliant. This is one of those films that reminds us of the power of cinema when used to its fully effect. The film follows a day in the life of a group of down-on-their-luck loser salesmen scraping together a living in a small urban office. When a new batch of leads is brought to the office, it seems like the salesmen's troubles are over. The catch? The new leads only go to closers. In addition, the company sends down a venomous sales executive to give the sales office an ultimatum: sell or die. Whoever sells the least will be fired.

The performances by Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey, Jack Lemmon, Alan Arkin and Alec Baldwin are each Oscar worthy. It is difficult to cite another film with such a broad cast of talent that manages to pull great performances from each player. The masterful screenplay adaptation written by Mamet himself gives these actors some of the richest scenes put to film in the 1990's. Jack Lemmon and Alec Baldwin are the standouts in this film. Lemmon as the desperate salesman Shelley Levene is awe inspiring. Every moment on screen watching this man who's life and soul have been consumed by business is gut wrenching. From his babbling sales pitch, to his nervous quiet moments, Lemmon's Levene is one of the best performances of the decade. More would probably have been made of Lemmon's incredible performance if it hadn't been for Alec Baldwin stealing the movie in his brief bombshell performance as Blake the aggressive executive salesman sent down from corporate to shape up the struggling, small office. Baldwin has a small, but pivotal role and provides easily the best performance of his cinematic career. His sole scene is worth the price of admission. He defines how to handle a monologue, how to command a scene. For all of the trash the man has made over the years, this single performance places him in a rare crowd of actors. His work in this film is one of the great performances in film history.

I cannot recommend this film highly enough.

Please note that people who are sensitive to foul language will have plenty to be concerned about here. Mamet's characters expel the F-word like other people exhale air.


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Labels: adaptation, Al Pacino, Alan Arkin, Alec Baldwin, David Mamet, Ed Harris, film, Jack Lemon, Kevin Spacey, movie review