Mamet, sans beard, on the set of "Redbelt"
Perhaps it also takes brass balls to be David Mamet. The uncompromising playwright, screenwriter and—when the mood suits—film director, has been cutting a terse, monosyllabic swath through the cultures of greed, sex, old age and religion since the 1976 debut of his play “Sexual Perversity in Chicago.”
Over the next week, the Aero Theater offers up a spate of Mamet mania in film form, starting with James Foley's precise adaptation of “Glengarry Glen Ross,” Mamet’s 1984 play about a handful of frantic salesmen scamming to keep their jobs. Keep in mind, as Alec Baldwin—boss Blake, “from Downtown”—tears into the likes of Ed Harris, Jack Lemmon and Alan Arkin, that the entirety of Baldwin’s showstopping, seven-minute cameo was written by Mamet specifically for the film. Also included in the series are the 1997 puzzle-piece drama “The Spanish Prisoner”; the Gene Hackman-led “Heist”; Mamet's first directorial effort, “House of Games”; and a free screening of 1987’s “Homicide,” which had surprisingly nothing to do with the TV series “Homicide: Life on the Street” that debuted six years later. Those who just have to get a piece of Mamet himself should queue up for the premiere of his latest, a mixed-martial-arts drama (no kidding) called "Redbelt." D.M. himself will be there to answer all your questions about Tim Allen's personal grooming habits.
This little five-sided snapshot leaves out the other dozens of films that Mamet has written, directed or produced. If all things were equal, we’d love to see the wonderfully medium-brow action movie “Spartan,” which finds its worth in the simplicity of Val Kilmer blasting his way through Dubai like a chubby Solid Snake. Fans of tough-guy speak and icy obscenities might want to hold their breath for Mamet's next writer-director foray. If IMDB is to be believed, next year will bring us “Joan of Bark: The Dog that Saved France.”
"Redbelt" premieres April 17. “Glengarry Glen Ross” plays April 18, 7:30 p.m. “The Spanish Prisoner” and “Heist” play April 19; "House of Games" and “Homicide” play April 23. $10.
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