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Ever picked up the phone and found yourself talking to a sharp
tongued salesperson? Or ever worked in a job where you had to
sell something to strangers over the phone? If so, you will
find something fundamentally appealing about Boiler Room, Ben
Younger's story of the hard nosed world of stockbroking.
College dropout Seth (Giovanni Ribisi) doesn't do so well at
school but he is an entrepreneur par excellence. He runs an
underground casino in his apartment and rakes in the cash that
his punters are so keen to burn. This, however, is not the sort
of lifestyle that is going to go down well with his magistrate
father (Ron Rifkin) so Seth figures he probably needs to find
a real job or risk being disowned from his family. His enterprising
streak comes to the attention of slick stockbroker Greg (Nicky
Katt). Seth is whisked off to induction at a flashy but small
stockbroking firm where he and his fellow trainees are promised
millions by veteran broker Jim (Ben Affleck - this is an organisation
full of young go getters - we don't see anybody much over 30).
Its a high pressure life, but Seth starts to learn the tricks
and eventually he becomes a bit of star at pushing 'hot' stocks
onto meek contacts at the end of a phone. He and his colleagues
work long hours but yet they always seem to have time to go
the pub after work, get aggressive, and start fights. Overlooking
the obviously strange fact that none of his workmates seem to
have a life outside of work, Seth starts to notice a few unusual
things about the firm he works for, and even worse, starts to
have morality crises about what he is doing.
The great thing about this movie is the way it sucks you in
and you end up getting so absorbed with the characters that
you forget you are actually watching a movie. The acting is
all top notch with Vin Diesel, Ben Affleck, and Nicky Katt all
having huge on-screen presence to match their high powered,
testosterone loaded characters. Ribisi is great as the film's
central hero, resourceful and clever but stuck in some difficult
situations but I found that the relationship between Seth and
his Dad gets a bit overdone at times.
Comparisons with the likes of Wall Street and Glengarry Glen
Ross are inevitable, and director / screenwriter Ben Younger
recognises this openly as various characters make direct references
to both movies. Its a supercharged movie throughout with loads
of tension and cool characters. For me, its another one of those
films that makes us glad that our own jobs are not as tough
as this one.
The title sums it up. And after watching this, you'll never
fall for a slimy sales pitch ever again.
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