He was actually the weakest link in that thing. Think about it...his scene was the stagiest and most strained element.
It’s David Mamet. Most of his works are “stagey.” But remove Baldwin and his scene from the picture, and you remove understanding the motivation for why the other sellers were driven to such desparation to hold onto their jobs. All the actors were marvelous, though Baldwin and Jack Lemmon especially so. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Al Pacino so low-key (save for his scene about why he won’t deal with Patels).