"Diamond Men" is a wonderful slice of Americana.
Arthur Miller's indelible use of a salesman as a symbol of much that's wrong with American capitalism and families so influenced cinematic imagery that it was continued corrosively by David Mamet in "Glengarry Glen Ross" and imitatively by Roger Rueff in "The Big Kahuna." (Yet, somewhat diabolically, salesmen are now more and more being used as role models for fund raising for nonprofit organizations.)
First time auteur, and diamond business scion, Daniel Cohen, has taken a similar situation of an aging road warrior (brilliantly subtle Robert Forster) and his apprentice (Donnie Wahlberg, with his brother's smiling charm and with NKOTB far behind) and the women they love and leave, and brought forth the shining humanity.
The small towns of Western Pennsylvania and their store owners, waitresses, and schemers provide an authentic background (well, maybe except for the brothel -- though I did get a kick out of the touch that had the madam scoring very high on the corporation's "customer service" exam) and the dialog, particularly about jewelry stores and diamonds, sounds completely genuine.
Even if the finale is a bit Hollywood, it feels redemptive, unlike other salesmen movies.
(originally written 10/6/2001)
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