So What Happens At The End of The Movie? - Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) Discussion

[–] mombabytiger 10 years ago

Come up with the ending that provides the most satisfaction for you. If you want to see Shelley in jail, put him there. Imagination is often more interesting than facts.

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[–] MdmBadenov 10 years ago

I'm surprised you have any questions about all of this. I think all the ends were tied up pretty unambiguously.

Shelly already confessed to Williamson. He told Shelly he was going to tell the detective and it's clear that he did. Shelly was in a corner. There was nothing he could do once he told Williamson. Moss (Ed Harris) was the accomplice, no one else. Shelly gave him up already to Williamson. Moss was certainly going to go down with Shelly. I imagine Shelly would go to jail...unless he would be able to plea bargain down to get off with probation, given he's a first-time offender. Even so, I think it's likely he will do some amount of time. It's never spelled out if Romo will get the Caddy or not, but my guess is he won't. Every single one of these men are con artists, especially the management. I'm sure all the real estate they're selling is crap, probably not worth anything close to what the buyers pay for it. So my guess is Romo wont get the car. For one thing, he lost the sale he was counting on to put him over the top. For another thing, maybe you heard what Williamson said when Romo first demanded the car. He brought up how the burglary has set them back. It looks like the management will use the burglary as an excuse to get out of giving the car to anyone.

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[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] frantz_sl 10 years ago

...and the detective cop went to sensitivity training, to learn how to talk to people more respectfully.

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what are you gonna do about it, *beep* ~ glengarry glen ross

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[–] eelb 9 years ago

Levene goes to jail.

Moss is tracked down, and goes to jail.

Roma goes to Mitch and Murray, and details his issues with Williamson. Given this, and that Williamson has also made certain mistakes, that led to the leads getting stolen, he is fired by Mitch and Murray.

Roma and Aaronow remain employed, with a new office manager, and two new salesmen.

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[–] bradford-1 9 years ago

I always hoped Shelly would be able to work out a deal with the district attorney; maybe give up what he probably has on Mitch & Murry in exchange for leniency.
May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?

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[–] BulletHeadedSaxonMothersSon 8 years ago

Roma goes to Mitch and Murray, and details his issues with Williamson. Given this, and that Williamson has also made certain mistakes, that led to the leads getting stolen, he is fired by Mitch and Murray.

I made a point about this myself in another thread, but apparently I was the only one under this impression. I guess I was right after all.

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[–] tbickle84 8 years ago

There is no way Williamson is getting fired, especially since he found out who robbed the office.

All attention is going to be turned to Moss and Shelly. Even Roma is going to turn his attention from Williamson to Shelly when it becomes clear that Shelly was the one who stole his Lingk contract.

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[–] Citation_Needed 8 years ago

Not only did Williamson found out the robber, he PURPOSELY screwed Roma out of getting a Cadillac to save the company money. He's golden in their eyes.

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[–] dyahrmarkt 8 years ago

Negative. No way would Williamson look good in causing one of their salespeople to lose a deal. The Cadillac isn't some obligation M&M is forced into giving away, after all - it's a private company. They could simply go for total negative reinforcement - be in the top 2 or you're fired.

Williamson screwed up royally in costing Roma the deal. He misspoke, and Roma wasn't wrong in illustrating Williamson's incompetence. It was clear Williamson used to be a salesman, and you've got to wonder if he was made office guy due to his inadequacy in the field.

Please nest your IMDB page, and respond to the correct person -

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[–] PreachCaleb 8 years ago

he PURPOSELY screwed Roma out of getting a Cadillac to save the company money.

That is not at all what happened.

Even if it was, that Cadillac is going to someone. The top seller gets it no matter what.

You are sin.

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[–] Citation_Needed 8 years ago

Roma said he needed THAT sale to get over the hump to win the car. He was already on top of the leaderboard. So there was definitely a sales minimum.

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[–] PreachCaleb 8 years ago

They also say the top guy gets the cadillac and second place gets steak knives, implying there is no minimum. First place gets the car.

Though I like the idea of a minimum. Makes mores sense to how Williamson accidentally cost Roma the car.

You are sin.

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[–] MdmBadenov 8 years ago

So it's never spelled out, you can imagine it any way you want. I really don't think Roma gets the car, though. All these men, even the management, are con men. It would be perfectly in keeping for management to find a way to screw Roma out of the car.

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[–] eelb 8 years ago

It's laid out from the start of the film that Williamson is an incompetent "office holder". Every salesman in the office shares that opinion. It's a logical conclusion that he took the wrong "shot" in attempting to persuade Lingk the sale was good. There's no reason to believe he did it on purpose. Also, there's some reminiscences of Levine in prior scenes, where he speaks of prices he's won. There's no indication that the firm reneges on the promises of prizes, and we're given no indication that Williamson was instructed by upper management to screw Roma out of the Cadillac.

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[–] PreachCaleb 8 years ago

It's a logical conclusion that he took the wrong "shot" in attempting to persuade Lingk the sale was good.

Exactly. He messed up. Plain and simple.

He didn't save the company any money by them not giving away the Cadillac. That money had already been allocated. Probably already spent.

This wasn't him trimming the budget. This was money the company had already used. Because if they don't use it, now they've got a cadillac just sitting there.

You are sin.

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[–] Citation_Needed 8 years ago

They didn't give out the steak knives either.

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[–] eelb 8 years ago

Not only did Williamson found out the robber, he PURPOSELY screwed Roma out of getting a Cadillac to save the company money. He's golden in their eyes.

I don't share that opinion. It's in Williamson's interest for Roma to make sales. It's also well known among the salesmen that Williamson can't think on his feet, which leads him to taking the wrong "shot" in trying to save the Lingk sale. He didn't do it on purpose.

The one salesman in the office that intimidates Williamson, is Roma. If you notice when Roma threatens to go to Mitch and Murray, and further states "he's going to Lipken" (obviously an individual above Mitch and Murray), Williamson never says a word. Everyone of the other three salesmen verbally attack Williamson at some point in the film. And Williamson shouts back at them until they shut-up. But not with Roma. Roma has power in that firm because he's a top salesman, and he can likely get anything he wants. After the immediate issues surrounding the robbery die down, you can bet Roma is going to see to it that Williamson is fired. Williamson sees this coming, and is part of his relentless questioning of Levene, immediately after the dressing down by Roma. Williamson figures if he can get an admission from Levene, it will make him look good, and take some of the heat off from Roma that is forthcoming with upper management.

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[–] Citation_Needed 8 years ago

It's in Williamson's interest for Roma to make sales.

He's a company man. Enter in a 6,000 sale that costs a 30,000 to 40,000 Cadillac or get it revoked by the client? Easy choice.

It's also well known among the salesmen that Williamson can't think on his feet

According to the others, but he solved the robbery by thinking on his feet, and if he does indeed quash the Roma deal to kill the car giveaway, he most certainly does think on his feet. They say he can't think on his feet because they don't understand his plays/moves. I wouldn't hold their opinions very high, they are salesmen.

Williamson never says a word.

He never said a word when Shelly bragged about his sale. He knew it was bupkiss, but he waited until the opportune time to shove it back in the Machines face. He's calculating, not reactive like the salesman are. He waits to make his play, and he will do so when Roma goes to threaten Williamson's job. So him saying nothing to Roma is in character to wait and throw it right back at Roma when the time is right.

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[–] Edward_de_Vere 8 years ago

According to the others, but he solved the robbery by thinking on his feet, and if he does indeed quash the Roma deal to kill the car giveaway, he most certainly does think on his feet. They say he can't think on his feet because they don't understand his plays/moves. I wouldn't hold their opinions very high, they are salesmen.

Williamson's lie didn't help Roma and made a bad situation worse, but it isn't what killed the deal either. It's clear that Lingk was so p-whipped by his wife that the deal was going to fall through regardless of what Roma did or what Williamson said about the deposit.

And you're right that the company isn't going to worry about what he said or didn't say about a contract that was practically dead in the water anyway when it was Williamson and not the police who figured out who was responsible for the robbery.

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[–] Citation_Needed 8 years ago

Williamson's lie didn't help Roma and made a bad situation worse

Uhh yeah. You're like a child who wanders into a movie and wants to know what's goin on. Try to follow the conversation.

It's clear that Lingk was so p-whipped by his wife that the deal was going to fall through regardless of what Roma did or what Williamson said about the deposit.

Wrong. Roma just needed him to think he had time to cancel the deal when he didn't. Now he knows he doesn't and will cancel it.

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[–] Edward_de_Vere 8 years ago

I can see that you're too stupid to understand that Roma's deal with Lingk would have fallen through regardless of what Williamson said about the deposit. So be it.

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[–] Citation_Needed 8 years ago

O RLY? It would have fell through regardless? Then why did Roma get so man at Williamson for opening his mouth? Did you even watch the movie? Go away. You don't have a clue.

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[–] eelb 8 years ago

Wrong. Roma just needed him to think he had time to cancel the deal when he didn't. Now he knows he doesn't and will cancel it.

So who are you going to trust, a spouse who's adept at researching consumer law, or a shady salesman who's modus operandi is lying in order to close a deal?

If the robbery, and resultant office turmoil the next morning hadn't occurred, and Roma had been able to speak to Lingk uninterrupted, his next move was another meeting with the wife. The critical point of that, was if it was done Saturday or later. That was when the 3 day limit for voiding the contract expired. Roma gives Lingk a bunch of mumbo jumbo about what days are included in the 3 days, in an attempt to convince him to arrange a Saturday dinner with the wife. When Lingk informs his wife of this, she will see through Roma's tactic, and proceed with her Attorney General plans.

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[–] eelb 8 years ago

Another thing you're missing in your defense of Williamson, is if he hadn't left the leads unsecured, they wouldn't have been stolen in the first place. Whether him inducing Levine's confession balances that out in the eyes of upper management is questionable. Roma meeting with management may well tip the scales against Williamson.

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[–] Citation_Needed 8 years ago

Secure them where? His only option is to lock the office. It's not like he access to a safe inside a panic room deep underground. Give me a break. What a lame excuse.

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[–] eelb 8 years ago

All attention is going to be turned to Moss and Shelly. Even Roma is going to turn his attention from Williamson to Shelly when it becomes clear that Shelly was the one who stole his Lingk contract.

Lingk's contract is void. Or it will be when Lingk's wife gets done with the Attorney General's office.

Levine had no way of knowing about Roma's contract. He just grabbed every bit of paperwork in sight, to divert attention away from the real object of the robbery, the Glengarry Leads. It made it look like a random robbery, and not an inside job.

Roma isn't going to focus on Levine. His real issue is with Williamson, and as Williamson inadvisably tells Lingk: "In any case the contracts are insured". Whether that statement is true are not, it stands to reason the firm would be insured against robberies.

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[–] Edward_de_Vere 8 years ago

Shelley probably confesses and pleads guilty, he'll do some time, though probably not very much. Regardless, his life is completely ruined. Perhaps his daughter will die since she won't be able to get whatever procedure she needs (though we're never told what her condition is, what she needs, and if it's truly life-threatening), so by the time he's released, Shelley will be an even emptier husk of a man than he is now.

No doubt he'll try to strike a deal in exchange for information on Moss and Graf. Moss can just deny the conversation ever took place, it's his word against Shelley's. Graf (who we never meet) will have a much harder time explaining how he got leads from a rival company. Playing dumb probably won't save him.

Williamson will probably fire Moss even though Moss never gets indicted (assuming Williamson believes Shelley's story about the robbery being Moss's idea), and the company will replace both Moss and Shelley with younger go-getters more in keeping with the new company culture.

I don't see Aaranow sticking around much longer either - he'll either quit or be fired.

Roma will stay around, even though he despises Williamson and the company he works for, since he's doing relatively well.

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[–] Ceephax 8 years ago

Shelley ends up serving time, but when he's released he changes his name to Gil and ends up becoming a cartoon character on The Simpson's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wl4ZX4-ui8

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[–] RaiderDuck 8 years ago

No doubt he'll try to strike a deal in exchange for information on Moss and Graf. Moss can just deny the conversation ever took place, it's his word against Shelley's. Graf (who we never meet) will have a much harder time explaining how he got leads from a rival company. Playing dumb probably won't save him.

Williamson will probably fire Moss even though Moss never gets indicted (assuming Williamson believes Shelley's story about the robbery being Moss's idea), and the company will replace both Moss and Shelley with younger go-getters more in keeping with the new company culture.

Moss goes to jail in this scenario. Levene gives up everything, the cops find Graf with the purloined leads, they BOTH flip on Moss, and that's enough to put him away.

If Levene were thinking straight, here's what he does instead: flee the office immediately, using any excuse necessary. Stash or dump the money somewhere. Deny EVERYTHING when the cops come. Say Williamson's making up a story because he (Levene) was going to blow the whistle to Mitch and Murray about wasting their sales staff's time on insane people with no money (the Nyborgs). He'll of course be fired on suspicion alone, but with any luck can avoid prison.

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