I wonder how many ostensibly peaceful office environments would react like this if they were given the same ultimatum! It's underperforming so the overbearing and supremely confident "Blake" (Alec Baldwin) announces to the team that at the end of the month, only the top two will have a job in their estate agency. This proves quite a shock to "Levene" (Jack Lemmon), "George" (Alan Arvin), "Dave" (Ed Harris) and "Ricky" (Al Pacino). They try, they claim, but the market just isn't there. Well "Blake" ain't buying any of that and so the ultimatum stands. What now ensues sees this workplace - under the rather weak management of the insipid "Williamson" (Kevin Spacey) go from amiable camaraderie to toxic back-stabbing. Essentially the battle comes down to "Ricky" vs. "Levene". The former a younger man full of zeal who has "Lingk" (Jonathan Price) about to buy and secure his top position; the latter has long lost his touch but not his need for a job. "Blake" has left one gift with their boss and that's a list of special "leads". These are clues to who might be seeking to buy and who might be looking to sell, and they are considered gold dust for this challenge but he isn't handing them out. Then the office suffers a break-in and those valuable documents are gone. Who took them? There are of no value at all to a common thief. That's the pivot conjoining an whole series of sharp practices, double standards and borderline criminality as the David Manet play shines quite an intense light on the dynamics of competitive human relationships, venality and trust. Lemmon manages to convey a palpable sense of desperation that's evenly matched by Pacino on good form as the man whom most of us could probably believe as a smarmy realtor. This smouldering toxicity and some pithy and ripe dialogue combines to increase and to maintain tension effectively throughout this short but intense drama that has the extra benefit of not being cluttered up by one single romantic interlude! I think it was pretty obvious who did the deed towards the end, but you're never quite sure and even then, do you feel pity, empathy, anger? Probably not since "12 Angry Men" (1957) have I seen such a powerfully delivered drama from an all male cast and it's worth a watch.
