I’ve been writing a lot here about non-superhero movies about adults. Let me now go a little further and declare my love for talking movies. Not “talkies.” I mean movies where people are basically just talking.
Sometimes I love falling asleep to one of these if I’ve seen it a bunch of times; I find the talking soothing and the lack of explosions easy to sleep with. But when I’m paying attention outside of the bedroom, these conversation films are more compelling to me than most heist films, road trip pictures, action comedies, horror movies, and certainly the worst of the superhero-saving-the-world movies.
What IS a “People Talking in Rooms” Movie, Exactly?
It’s not as easy to pin down as one might think. Yes, a courtroom drama is a lot of talking but it doesn’t qualify. When you think about it, rom-coms are two people doing a lot of talking, but the action and tension is what they’re not talking about.
Great scenery or getting outside of rooms most of the time is enough to bump from this category. Before Sunrise is both a rom-com and largely outdoors. Office Space is indoors but the plot revolves around Peter and co.’s actions instead of words. Even the interior world of Searching for Bobby Fischer is tempting, but chess is the engine as much as the talking (though I’m gonna have to write about that one soon).
I guess that’s where I’m defining this: The actions or interactions or conflict between characters in these movies are about what they say, not what they do.
Other made-up definitions here:
- Dialogue is the engine of the story.
- The important scenes occur in a limited number of interior spaces.
- Characters change each other’s minds more often than they change the physical world.
- Tension comes from persuasion, revelation, deception, confession, negotiation, or argument.
- If you removed the conversations, there’d be almost no movie left.
Who Coined the Term?
Filmmaker Mickey Reece has described his own style as “people talking in rooms,” and some critics have picked up the phrase. I’ve heard it said on a couple of podcasts, liked it, so I’m stealing it here. So, if you like the category, you can go ahead and start saying that I made it up if you need to attribute it to somebody.
So, strap in for some low-budget yet high-stakes drama. And yes, lots of these are gonna end up as plays. By the way, I’m trying to limit to one per director and screenwriter, otherwise we’d have about 8-to-12 David Mamet movies here. Apologies to 12 Angry Men, I went with Network for a Sidney Lumet masterpiece.
I’m not making this a countdown because it’s not science, I don’t have a scoring system, and most of all, I respect you enough not to pull a clickbait or longer-engagement gimmick on you. And speaking of no gimmicks – here we go:
1 – Michael Clayton
So many people are outright schooling each other just through conversation: Michael to the hit-and-run driver, Arthur’s episode in deposition, Arthur telling Michael he fucked up and he’s a bag man, Tilda Swinton ordering a murder, lots of people telling Michael the trouble he’s in (his boss, his mob creditor, his cop brother, his poker buddies). Every conversation is a hammer.
Signature Conversation: Michael winning in the end by taping a conversation. “I’m not the guy you kill. I’m the guy you buy! Are you so fucking blind that you don’t even see what I am? I sold out Arthur for 80 grand. I’m your easiest problem and you’re gonna kill me?”
2 – Margin Call
Please tell me you’ve seen this movie. If you haven’t and you’re reading this, it’s for you. The credit default swap disaster financial crisis of the late 2000s explained, but if you don’t get it, that doesn’t even matter. This is all about power dynamics in every conversation. The only “action” is selling toxic assets over the phone. Jeremy Irons, Kevin Spacey (I know), Stanley Tucci and others bringing the heat.
Signature Conversation: I love the Tucci bridge-building monologue and Spacey’s pep-talks but Jeremy Irons in the boardroom is gold. “ There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first, be smarter, or cheat.”
3 – The Insider
Not only is this smart people talking in rooms but about 50% of that is smart people talking on phones. Russell Crowe is great and on a low simmer the whole time but Al Pacino is eating everybody’s lunch in every conversation.
Signature Conversation: The CBS debates with the legal department … [chef’s kiss]. “ And Jeffrey Wigand, who’s out on a limb, does he go on television and tell the truth? Yes. Is it newsworthy? Yes. Are we gonna air it? Of course not. Why? Because he’s not telling the truth? No. Because he is telling the truth. That’s why we’re not going to air it. And the more truth he tells, the worse it gets! ”
4 – The Big Kahuna
An indie gem of a 3-hander featuring Danny DeVito, Peter Facinelli, and Kevin Spacey (I promise, his second-to-last appearance here). These three salesmen sell industrial lubricants and talk about life, about when/how to make their pitch, and then about how this kid blew it by proselytizing instead of selling. Maybe the least known movie here but the best example of what I’m talking about.
Signature Conversation: DeVito’s character defends Larry then turns the holier-than-thou kid on his head. “ The question is do you have any character at all? And if you want my honest opinion, Bob, you do not, for the simple reason that you don’t regret anything yet. I’m saying you’ve already done plenty of things to regret. You just don’t know what they are. ”
5 – Glengarry Glen Ross
Our list goes from the soft sell of The Big Kahuna to the hard sell of Glengarry. The play is maybe as good as any I can think of, and each actor gets their turn to act the crap out of their scenes. But then they added the most iconic talking just for the movie, the Alec Baldwin reading of the riot act and the new rules for the sales contest. This is toxic masculinity failing in front of our eyes and talking us through all of it. Toughest part is that Jack Lemmon (Shelly) will make you as sad as Willy Loman.
Signature Conversation: I could have picked any scene, but Alec Baldwin turns this movie up to 10 right away with the stakes and it stays there. “These are the new leads. These are the Glengarry leads. And to you they’re gold, and you don’t get them. Why? Because to give them to you is just throwing them away. They’re for closers. I’d wish you all good luck, but you wouldn’t know what to do with it if you got it. ”
6 – Network
World-class talking (William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Beatrice Straight) and shouting (Peter Finch, Robert Duvall) and Ned Beatty doing both. It’s a cliche to say this script and movie are “prescient” about reality TV, modern media, and late-stage capitalism, but that doesn’t make it untrue. Everything you need to know about how the world works is said from one character to another.
Signature Conversation: The whole movie changes when mad prophet Howard Beale runs into Ned Beatty’s corporate education and slapdown. “There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM and ITT and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon. Those are the nations of the world today.”
7 – Six Degrees of Separation
Another stage adaptation, perhaps I should just see more plays and fewer movies. Will Smith was never as talky as this again. So many people are being convinced of things in every interchange, not just Paul’s lies. There’s an Inception level of conversations recalling conversations which recall other conversations.
Signature Conversation: Ouisa stopping the characters and the audience from thinking social chatter is so charming. “And we become these human jukeboxes spitting out these anecdotes to dine out on like we’re doing right now. Well, I will not turn him into an anecdote; it was an experience. How do we hold onto the experience?”
8 – Spotlight
Maybe the talkiest Best Picture to ever win an Oscar. This movie is almost a magic trick how it showed reporters reading, interviewing, and writing and is still compelling. Mark Ruffalo is the only guy who even raises his voice. Michael Keaton belongs in the People Talking in Rooms fictional Hall of Fame.
Signature Conversation: This movie goes or slows down depending on Robby (Keaton) pressing the gas or the brakes. “ We’ve got two stories here: a story about degenerate clergy, and a story about a bunch of lawyers turning child abuse into a cottage industry. Which story do you want us to write? Because we’re writing one of them.”
9 – The Odd Couple
Jokes are talking, too. There are suicide threats, divorce, sincere apologies and yet it’s one of the funniest plays and movies of all time. I’m just wondering if Oscar’s late-movie silent treatment of Felix still counts in this category.
Signature Conversation: The back-and-forth arguments are great, but when Walter Matthau is more sad and frustrated than angry is where it’s not all banter but actual friendship. “You leave me little notes on my pillow. Told you 158 times I can’t stand little notes on my pillow. “We’re all out of cornflakes. F.U.” Took me three hours to figure out F.U. was Felix Unger!”
10 – Carnage
Two sets of parents arguing about responsibility for their sons’ argument at school. Directed by Roman Polanski – good God this list has been problematic behind the scenes. All four leads (Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslett, Christoph Waltz) are world class talking actors. Particularly Waltz, who talks in rooms better than anyone in Inglourious Basterds. The only action really taken here is dropping his BlackBerry into water, which ironically promotes more conversation.
Signature Conversation: Finally, late in the film when people stop being polite and start getting real; Kate Winslet lets it fly. “We come over here to work things out with them and they, they insult us, they browbeat us, they lecture us about being good citizens of the world! I am glad our son kicked the shit out of your son and I wipe my ass with your human rights!”
11 – The Spanish Prisoner
Maybe it’s not the David Mamet directed movie you would have thought; I hated leaving State and Main off the list, but too many things actually happen in that one. A feature-length movie with an elaborate con and twisted plot, it’s all done with talking. Steve Martin and Campbell Scott say plenty in their elliptical conversations around each other, but it’s Ricky Jay’s character who has the wisdom of a fortune cookie in every line.
Signature Conversation: The con artist is a misdirection artist, pointing out someone else for what HE’s doing. “If they are indebted to you morally but not legally, my experience is they will give you nothing, and they will begin to act cruelly toward you.”
12 – All The President’s Men
Seems weird to have this well below Spotlight when the Watergate movie was the O.G. of reporters doing their work movies. Almost every interview Woodward and Bernstein do is a master class in how to break down somebody’s defenses. And then the chatter among the editors at The Washington Post are perfect depictions how professionals who are great at their jobs talk to each other.
Signature Conversation: These are great lines from Ben Bradlee but also the point where the editors start believing in their young reporters. “He really said that about Mrs. Graham? [nods] Well, I’d cut the words “her tit” and print it. [“Why?”] This is a family newspaper.”
13 – The Big Chill
Great, deep cast, and while there are group talking scenes, I think every conceivable pair of characters each have their own one-on-one conversation. Maybe it’s a little dated or on the nose about the fade of the Sixties but it’s damn good. Come for the dancing around the kitchen making salads to Motown songs, stay for the discussions. There is another Lawrence Kasdan talking movie I need to advocate for: Mumford, check it out.
Signature Conversation: Looking back on this one years later, I’m agreeing most with the most cynical character. “I don’t know anyone who could get through the day without two or three juicy rationalizations. They’re more important than sex.” “Ah, come on. Nothing’s more important than sex.” “Oh yeah? Ever gone a week without a rationalization?”
14 – Carnal Knowledge
A zag from me in Mike Nichols catalog. Yes, we all know Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is about the most uncomfortable conversations that people have ever had to overhear on film, and the film turns on the innocents not being that innocent. But I gotta ride for Carnal Knowledge which is sexist Jack Nicholson discussing sex and sexist ideas with his slightly less sexist buddy Art Garfunkel. Amazing talking movie because of how long the talking scenes are. Even in the weird ending, Jack’s character has scripted what his prostitute says back to him.
Signature Conversation: At the end of a rough talk between Ann-Margaret and Jack about how they don’t talk, it all eventually erupts. “I need a life.” “Get a job!” “I don’t want a job! I want you.” “I’m taken, by me!”
15 – The Hateful Eight
With the late action in this one it might seem like I violated my rule. But if you skip the third hour, this is two great hours of talking. Lots of Tarantino movie charm is just talking about something mundane; yes, in something like Pulp Fiction you’ll get a great riff about what to call burgers in Europe, but it’s only two minutes later that Sam Jackson is going to fire a huge gun. This is almost like murder mystery chatter with gathered suspects, like in Agatha Christie or Knives Out.
Signature Conversation: Tim Roth’s character almost argues against frontier justice (the point of the movie) by accident “The man who pulls the lever that breaks your neck will be a dispassionate man. And that dispassion is the very essence of justice. For justice delivered without dispassion is always in danger of not being justice.”
16 – The Queen
Not only is this all talking, but I don’t think anybody ever raises their voice. Just as Peter Morgan went on to make one of the two best Talking In Rooms television series ever (The Crown and the other being The West Wing). The British royals never disappoint from keeping their voices down, even in life and death situations. We’ve been focusing on the talking, but not very much about the rooms in these movies; it’s hard to beat Buckingham Palace and the castle at Balmoral for quality drawing rooms.
Signature Conversation: The Queen doesn’t read the room properly for the first 80% of this film, evidenced by quotes like this. “I doubt there is anyone who knows the British people more than I do, Mr. Blair, nor who has greater faith in their wisdom and judgement. And it is my belief that they will any moment reject this… this ‘mood’.”
17 – My Dinner With Andre
Maybe it’s unfair to omit indie talkfests like Coffee & Cigarettes or Smoke off the list and keep this, but at least this dinner is just two people the whole time, Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn. They achieved something almost inconceivable here, Andre is the outside-the-box guy while Shawn more prosaic New Yorker, they argue over the nature of existence and yet seem like real friends who genuinely want to hear what the other wants to say.
Signature Conversation: Andre Gregory is supposed to be the more intellectual of the two, but Wallace Shawn seems to make the better points. “I’m looking for more comfort because the world is very abrasive. I mean, I’m trying to protect myself because, really, there’s these abrasive beatings to be avoided everywhere you look!”
18 – In The Loop
We shouldn’t ignore comedy and this one, like the series it was based on (In The Thick Of It) and the one it inspired (Veep) it’s the fastest comedy you’re ever gonna see. Yes, it’s prime political satire. But it also raises a special kind of talking, swearing, to an absolute art form.
Signature Conversation: As great as the Veep actors are, nobody swears better and dresses somebody down better than Peter Capaldi in this movie. “Within your ‘purview’? Where do you think you are, some fucking regency costume drama? This is a government department, not some fucking Jane fucking Austen novel! Allow me to pop a jaunty little bonnet on your purview and ram it up your shitter with a lubricated horse cock!”
19 – The Social Network
David Fincher films are indeed visual feasts but let’s face it, this movie is mostly talking in rooms. Yes, there’s a lot of coding and typing but somehow they keep speaking while they’re writing software; something I’ve never been able to pull off. Zuckerberg is detached and seems to be talking because he loves the sound of his own voice, while everybody else is speaking to change somebody’s mind.
Signature Conversation: Sean Parker seducing Mark Zuckerberg, at least in the movie version, is where everything changes. “A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion.”
20 – Remains of the Day
Leave it to the English to make the perfect movie about things that go unsaid. There’s plenty of intelligent talking, and there aren’t many better than Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson at this sort of thing; but all of the talking is about everything except what they’re feeling.
Signature Conversation: Finally, Miss Kenton lays all of her cards out on the table and Stevens STILL can’t be honest with her or himself. “I am a coward. I’m frightened of leaving and that’s the truth. All I see out in the world is loneliness and it frightens me. That’s all my high principles are worth, Mr. Stevens. I’m ashamed of myself.” “Miss Kenton, you mean a great deal to this house. You’re extremely important to this house. Miss Kenton.”
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