I could upload a David Mamet movie to my I-Pod and listen to it while I exercise or drive. Mamet's prose is almost lyrical and it sounds like music when spoken by the right actors. American Buffalo is a 1996 adaptation of his hugely successful, vulgar, and terse 3-man stage play and stars Dustin Hoffman and Dennis Franz (Sean Nelson, an unknown plays the 3rd role). Largely set in a pawn shop owned by one of the characters, the three men devise a plan for getting back at a customer who ripped the store off on a recent purchase. As they plot, emotions and old wounds fester up and truths are ultimately revealed in their friendships. The film was not received well when it was released. I don't see how this could be a failure and the play a success considering they're basically the same thing. Admittedly, the film is not exactly what you would call cinematic, but again, I loved hearing the Mamet Speak as spoken by the actors and found this to be a nice retread into the tough world of Don's Pawn Shop.
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