Why did Williamson lie to Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross?
I loved Glengarry Glen Ross but there is one thing I still find strange.
Why did Williamson lie to Roma about the contract before? I mean, if the contract was stolen Roma should have gone back to the client and try to have him sign it again...
Why did Williamson lie to Roma in the first time?
Best Answer
From Wikipedia:
Roma tries to deceive Lingk by telling him that the check he wrote the night before has yet to be cashed, and that accordingly he has time to reason with his wife and reconsider.
Williamson, unaware of Roma and Levene's stalling tactic, lies to Lingk, claiming that he already deposited his check in the bank
The idea is to stall Lingk. If Roma can persuade Lingk to go and talk to his wife (while the cheque is being processed as it should have gone to the bank the previous night) he will fail to stop it. Williamson however thinks the issue is the robbery and that Lingk is afraid someone else has the cheque, so he lies and says it's banked.
This then leads Lingk to rush to the bank to stop the cheque immediately which means Roma's deal falls apart.
It also ultimately leads to unmasking the Glengarry thief.
Pictures about "Why did Williamson lie to Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross?"
Who stole the leads in Glengarry Glen Ross?
Back at the Chinese restaurant, Moss proposes that they strike back at Mitch and Murray by stealing all the Glengarry leads and sell them to Jerry Graff, a competing real estate agency, for $7,500.What is the meaning of the title Glengarry Glen Ross?
The title of the film comes from the names of two of the real estate developments being peddled by the salesmen characters: Glengarry Highlands and Glen Ross Farms. The film was critically acclaimed and is widely considered one of the best films of 1992.How did Glengarry Glen Ross end?
Williamson tells Levene that if he does not confess what he has done with the leads, then he is going to turn Levene in. Levene tries to deny the crime, but as Williamson heads to the inner office to talk to Baylen, Levene breaks down and admits that he and Moss sold the leads to Jerry Graff.Roma rips into Williamson – Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
More answers regarding why did Williamson lie to Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross?
Answer 2
I think Williamson is in high stress after the robbery. Then, he has do deal with the police, and Roma cursing and yelling at him.
He might also feel guilty because he was supposed to come back yesterday night to file these contracts as he always do but this one time, he didn't as he stayed home with his kids. He probably wants to protect him since it could be suspicious that a robbery happened at the very same moment where he didn't came back at the office.
Later, when he confronts Levene:
I'm saying this, Shelly... usually I take the contracts to the bank, last night I didn't. Last night I stayed home with my kids.
How did you know that? One night in a year,I left a contract on my desk. No one knew that but you.
His job is not in danger as he is not a salesman, so he might not care about this specific deal and the Cadillac, so think he just wants to calm Roma down to get rid of him at this specific moment.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Devan Manuel, cottonbro, cottonbro, Pixabay