MovieChat Forums > Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) Discussion > Was James Linc (spell?) gay

Was James Linc (spell?) gay

posted 7 years ago by nelking
6 replies | jump to latest

I'm a big fan of this film and have seen it several times. Not too long ago, I was reading someone's contention that the Linc character was gay and that, clearly Romo knew about it. The person explained that, during the big heart to heart, when Linc was in the office trying to back out and Romo made mention of him having his own life (or words to that effect) that was a reference to his secret gay life. I hadn't really interpreted the conversation that way. I thought it was more Romo telling him, fairly diplomatically, that he was completely hen pecked but that there were some things that he should do on his own, without his wife's blessing. Thoughts?

[–] Silent_Bob01 7 years ago

I seem to be in the minority among people on this board, but I do think there was a gay subtext with Lingk. Roma picked up on it and exploited it.

When Roma says to him, "And there are other things, and those things are yours. You needn't feel ashamed. You needn't feel that you're being untrue or that she would abandon you if she knew."

Now, on the surface, it sounds like Roma is simply talking about Lingk going ahead with the deal on his own and standing up to his wife, but there's a not-so-subtle implication in those words...maybe Lingk told Roma more than he anticipated as they got drunk together the night before.

[–] nelking 7 years ago

Interesting...I couldn't recall the exact wording of that. If he WAS gay, that sure was a real subtle way of throwing it in.

[–] Rocky15 (489) 2 years ago

I noticed it too, and Roma seemed the type to exploit it when he noticed Lingk at the office he told Shelley something like “I do this with my hair” Lingk was probably attracted to the alpha male Roma and Roma picked up on it and used it to his advantage.

[–] PackManDan (53) 8 months ago

When Roma and Shelley were talking, Roma sees Lingk walking into the office. Roma, already having an idea Lingk is probably coming to cancel the deal, quickly tells Shelley something to the affect of “when I do this with my hair make sure you rush me to get out of here.” There are about 3 times throughout the conversation between Roma and Lingk when Roma puts his fingers through his hair, and right on cue, Shelley immediately interrupts him and says he has to go to the airport.

[–] JFZ (1459) 8 months ago

Haha, the people looking for gay cues are probably gay, looking for signals. Classic projection.

[–] PackManDan (53) 8 months ago

You replied to me. Not sure if you meant to because I’m not looking for gay cues. In fact I was actually telling the person that it wasn’t that at all. It was a way for Shelley to know when to interrupt Roma and Lingk.