Boiler Room
***1/2
Rated on a 4-star
scale
Screening venue: Odeon (Manchester City Centre)
Released in the UK by Entertainment Distribution on May 5, 2000; certificate
15; 119 minutes; country of origin USA; aspect ratio 1.85:1
Directed by Ben Younger; produced by
Jennifer Todd, Suzanne Todd.
Written by Ben Younger.
Photographed by Enrique Chediak; edited by Chris
Peppe.
CAST.....
Giovanni Ribisi..... Seth
Vin Diesel..... Chris
Nicky Katt..... Greg
Nia Long..... Abby
Ron Rifkin..... Seth's father
Scott Caan..... Richie
Jamie Kennedy..... Adam
Taylor Nichols..... Harry Reynard
Ben Affleck..... Jim
It's only two weeks since I reviewed "American
Psycho", but here already is a more powerful movie dealing with similar themes,
without the dumb gags or vicious streak. "Boiler Room" is often
a comedy, because it lets us spend time with some of the most risible people
alive -- stockbrokers. It's also a very serious thriller, because the protagonist
gets seduced by their money-grubbing lifestyle and ends up in over his
head.
His name is Seth (Giovanni Ribisi), a 19-year
old New Yorker who dropped out of college and supports himself by running
an illegal casino out of his apartment. When his father, a federal court
judge, discovers this, he hits the roof, and tells him to get a proper job.
Seth can't handle dad's disgust. He determines to find an occupation that
requires him to wear a suit.
Then one of his friends sets him up at the firm
of J.T. Marlin -- a telemarketing 'chop shop' that sells people stock for
companies that don't exist, then charges them huge commission rates to dump
it on the open market. This is more dishonest than the casino, but hey, it
looks respectable enough. And it pays better. That's made clear in a pep
talk by the recruiter, Jim (Ben Affleck), who seems to have used Alec Baldwin's
chilling monologue in "Glengarry Glen Ross" as a self-help tape. "Work here,"
he tells the men in front of him, "And within three years you'll be a
millionaire. Anybody who says money is the root of all evil doesn't have
any."
The guys know Oliver Stone's "Wall Street" off
by heart, too. They proudly recite the villain's speeches; oblivious to the
message, and getting a kick out of the lingo. When they're all on the phone,
screaming stock pitches to potential victims, the obsession and aggression
in the office is palpable, and so very evil and illegal that we know something
disastrous is bound to happen.
Since we are so engaged by Seth, we watch this
with more tension than disgust. He is a well-written hero for the piece because
he's an essentially good kid; we can sympathise with his desire to make money,
and though he does dishonest things, he doesn't realise it, because he hasn't
evaluated the situation in that way. The climate in J.T. Marlin teaches him
to consider only money, and if there's nothing wrong with the pay check,
what could be wrong at all? Seth has to be suckered in before he can realise
what a sham this is, and "Boiler Room" is fascinating because it lets us
see the whole process unfold.
All of the movie's dialogue is impressive. Brokers'
conversations sound like a cross between financial jargon and military planning.
And Seth's scenes with his father (Ron Rifkin) and the film's love interest
(Nia Long) are staged like clichés but played with humour, emotion,
presence and personality. The characters talk about their backgrounds, hopes
and needs in convincing ways. "Boiler Room" works as a morality play by
presenting us with people whose moral compasses it's actually possible to
care about.
COPYRIGHT© 2000 Ian
Waldron-Mantgani
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