Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

Adapted by David Mamet from his own 1984 play, this is a remarkable film that transfers amazingly well to the screen. 

The plot deals with four real estate salesmen engaged in conning their clients. Although the details of the con are never fully explained, the real point is the relationships between the characters and the way they talk to each other as their situation intensifies across two days. These dynamics are explored with unusual intelligence. 

I’ve never known so much swearing in a film. Also, there is a huge amount of dialogue with machine-gun-fire speech between the characters as they interact. Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris and Alan Arkin are all superb, in their own ways, reflecting the tension that goes with their illegal work. And Alec Baldwin is more powerful than usual, playing a motivational salesman sent to inspire the others.

Sunshine Cleaning (2008)

Absolutely superb drama. 

Sisters Rose and Norah (Amy Adams and Emily Blunt) go into business clearing up after suicides and murders. This, in turn, leads them to contemplate their own mother’s suicide and how it has affected their lives and social interactions. 

Various sub-plots are expertly woven in, involving their father (Alan Arkin) and other relationships. Especially good is Mary Lynn Rajskub as Lynn, who Norah follows and then befriends after she learns that she too is the daughter of a suicide. (Director Christine Jeffs also directed Sylvia, suggesting that female suicide is a recurring theme in her work.)

The writing is subtle and sophisticated. There’s real warmth in the acting. Amy Adams delivers an incredibly sensitive and nuanced performance. You really feel what she’s feeling because she makes it seem so believable. 

It’s gently funny, as well. A real gem.

The Aviator (2004)

Biopic of billionaire entrepreneur Howard Hughes, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. 

It’s a sad and engrossing story that expertly details Hughes’ decline into paranoia, social reclusiveness and the crippling discomfort of extreme OCD. 

Scorsese’s usual tricks are all displayed, but it’s refreshing to see them used in a non-crime story. At times it all seems a little too stylised, but then Scorsese handles this visual flamboyance so well that he makes it work. Plus, it’s a film about the veneer of Hollywood success so that lavish styling serves to further underscore the subject matter. 

DiCaprio is absolutely superb as the visibly crumbling Hughes. Cate Blanchett is also at her best, capturing the quick-witted energy of Katharine Hepburn. 

Also popping up are Kate Beckinsale (as Ava Gardner), Ian Holm, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Gwen Stefani (as Jean Harlow), Willem Dafoe and Alan Alda (as Senator Ralph Owen Brewster).

Argo (2012)

Superb thriller regarding the real-life events of the so-called “Canadian Caper”. 

In November 1979, Iranian extremists stormed the US embassy in Tehran as a result of the USA (under Jimmy Carter) granting the Shah political asylum. A total of 66 staff were taken as hostages, but six diplomats escaped and were given shelter by the Canadian ambassador. Incredibly, CIA operative Tony Mendez (played here by Ben Affleck, who also directs) travels to Tehran in an attempt to rescue the six under the premise that they are making a science-fiction film, Argo, in the region. 

It’s tense and exciting stuff. The sense of threat is built up with real expertise. The storytelling is lucid. All of the characters are portrayed brilliantly, with no weak links. Even John Goodman, who plays a prosthetics expert (alongside Alan Arkin as a film producer), is reined in enough that he cannot mess it up.

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

Extremely sophisticated comedy-drama. John Cusack plays a paid assassin who returns to his hometown to attend a school reunion and to meet up with the girlfriend (Minnie Driver) he abandoned a decade previously. When old friends and colleagues ask what he does for a living, he tells them he’s a professional killer and they think he’s joking. But he is finally maturing and beginning to question his “moral flexibility” – despite having one more job to do. Meanwhile, a rival assassin played by Dan Akyroyd intends to finish him off.

The humour is of the very blackest sort and the film balances the laughs and the tension with such expertise that it works. Supporting characters such as his terrified therapist Dr. Oatman (Alan Arkin) and his assistant Marcella (John’s sister, Joan Cusack) add further depth and wit.

Original music is by Joe Strummer and there’s also an excellent 1980s indie-pop soundtrack (Specials, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Cure) in line with the “reunion” theme.

Hugely entertaining, and it makes you think too.