Yes, it feels like a play: centred on conversation- and what lively conversation- between just three people: little action. I don't think that disqualifies it from being a great film.Does a movie have to be all action? I was reminded of Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" (waiting for Fletcher). I watch TV late watching and normally fall asleep during the most vigorous movies. This film kept me sitting on the edge of my seat all the way through. If you enjoy people and seeing how somewhat depraved characters- even extraordinary characters like Teach- have some goodness deep down this movie will have meaning for you. The acting is first class

"American Buffalo" is definitely not a movie for everyone. A downer in every sense, it portrays three pitiful characters with nowhere to go in life. I guess that overall, there's little to be said about the movie. It's little more than a way to pass time. The whole thing has the distinct feel of a play (it all happens pretty much in one room), but Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Franz and Sean Nelson have little to do here. Still, it might make you ponder your own direction in life.I have to wonder about that coin featuring the buffalo. When you think about it, that coin went the way of the buffalo. Maybe I'm the only person who notices that.

Yep, this is a dreary film set in a dreary junkshop in a dreary city. It is the perfect material for the pre-Prozac set of depressed souls. This play reminded me of "No Exit" to the extent that I imagine the characters going through these deliberations and recriminations every day into eternity. Unless the viewer is interested in exploring obsession and depression, it is not likely they will find much here. Mr. Mamet is so good at finding a moment, a glance, an expression and, climbing inside of it, he turns it inside out and expresses almost geometric variations. If he were not a playright he might have been a jazz musician.

Your average movie goer will not enjoy this film. With a small cast of three main characters, the majority of the film takes place in a single room. This alone may explain why the film never took off as the blockbuster it should have been with actors such as Dennis Franz and Dustin Hoffman. The direction of the film could have been much better that it turned out to be. Like other critics have said, the film was shot like it was being acted on stage. This is very true. The film has no unique directing style nor does it have any strong motif to add to the films creative look and style. The acting in the film, on the other hand, is wonderful. Franz and Hoffman are excellent together. With a stronger movie maker in the director's chair, the movie could have been much much better.