There are some plays and movies that are not about sitting
there for 90 minutes or more just watching something that makes you laugh or
tense up due to the action involved. Instead they offer an actor the chance to use
the skills they have developed to bring life to a character, good or bad, that
makes that character come alive. To watch that isn’t necessarily something you
watch for pure entertainment. It becomes a combination of that and being pulled
into the lives of the characters on screen. Those actors become those
characters.
On top of that there are certain writers who can bring forth
a story and screenplay (or play) that offers actors the chance to do just that.
One of the most exciting of these is David Mamet. In numerous screenplays Mamet
has provided actors with the opportunities to show just how great they can be.
The language he chooses may offend but it is the language of the characters he
is writing about. It’s real.
In 1996 two actors performed in a movie based on one of
Mamet’s hit plays, AMERICAN BUFFALO. Both of them displayed such amazing jobs
of acting that you come to a point where you have a hard time differentiating
between what is real, what is acting, and what is a movie that you are watching.
Between the written word and the sculpting of the characters both bring life to
what could have been boring.
Dennis Franz is Don, the owner of an inner city junk store
and part time thief who has just learned of a possible big score. Having
resigned himself to the daily grind of running this business he now has a
chance to put something away, make a large haul for himself and for the person
that tipped him off to the score, Bob (Sean Nelson). Having overheard a
conversation at the nearby diner across the street, the two are making plans
for this once in a lifetime deal.
Into the pawn shop walks Teach (Dustin Hoffman). Teach is a
professional criminal by trade, a small timer who talks big and who thinks he
knows it all. Where Don has resigned himself to the daily life he leads, Teach
constantly makes plans to be the big man on the block. He recites rules that
should apply to all criminals and yet follows none. He might talk about how a
smart crook knows not to share information while at the same time pressuring
those around him to talk. Such is the case as he pushes Don’s buttons trying to
find out just what he’s planning, what the score is. While punching up how
great he is he tells Don that Bob is too young and unskilled to be a part of
this score.
Throughout the movie Don is on edge, wondering if they can
pull off this burglary or not, wondering who he should trust, being manipulated
by the fast talking and ever present Teach. He knows Bob is a young kid but is
Teach someone he can actually trust? As the film moves forward the arguments
back and forth, the discussions of what to do fill the 88 minutes we’re
watching with a sense of dread and concern for all involved. They may be crooks
but they are also human beings. We watch as they crumble before us and hope
that in the end things will turn out all right.
The movie takes place in the junk store from start to finish
with only a few moments with the characters stepping outside into the street
taking place. It feels claustrophobic and tight matching the wordplay that goes
on between the characters. What goes down between these three men in the course
of one night makes for some tense moments and some fascinating back and forth
dialogue that has you mesmerized from the start.
I remember seeing this years ago when it first came out and
thinking how boring it was. But I was younger than and unappreciative of the
display of skill that was taking place by the actors on the screen or the
dexterity of the written words that Mamet had woven together to create these
three characters and their world. Watching it now I wish I would have
appreciated it more at the time and now look forward to watching it again.
This new blu-ray release from Twilight Time shows their care
in the choices they make to bring to blu. Extras, as are normally the case with
Twilight Time, are limited but good choices none the less. An isolated score
track, commentary track featuring film historians Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman
and the original theatrical trailer are what is offered.
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