Craig Zobel writes and directs this film produced by independent film maker David Gordon Green about a small record production company also called "The Great World of Sound" or GSW if you want to make a check out to them.
Martin (Pat Healy) joins the new company in hopes to make a difference and get some pointers in the world of business to help promote his wife/girlfriend Pam's (Rebecca Mader) arts and crafts that she makes. Clarence (Kene Holliday of Matlock fame) is Martin's partner as they both learn the ropes of the industry together. For the record, Clarence is by far the most entertaining character in the film. The most true and talented artist of the entire film is Gloria a waitress at a bar in Indianapolis played very convincingly by Robert Longstreet.
The film is about the choices made when faced with adversity. It shows the proverbial "slippery slope" when dealing with morals and success. From the small lie of using a cell phone as a camera phone to straight up taking people's hard earned money for a bogus venture the pair of Martin and Clarence run the entire gamut.
Many of the potential artists are so willing to believe that they are something special that they blindly hand over checks of up to $3,000 in hopes of getting their music out there.Great World of Sound may turn people off with its ending which initially might leave some feeling unsatisfied. Zobel does a great job showing how a man even of the highest scruples can succumb to the lows of necessity, want and embarrassment of failure.
I think this is one of the more real films in recent memory. There are con artists out there who are trying to play on the desire for people to become overnight sensations by making a quick buck without much work. It effectively shows the ways people are willing to compromise to believe in their dream. Smooth talking business men can accomplish a lot with just a few metaphors and words that strike the right chord with the right person.
There are a lot of pitfalls to big business out there. Corporations set their own laws in a lot of cases but at least with them you know what you are getting even if getting them to hear your voice might be impossible. In this case it was the shady small businessman who had no remorse for his actions and left others to hold the bag both financially and morally.
It is certainly not a positive film to watch in a lot of ways but it is enjoying and worth checking out.