The Spanish Prisoner 1998, Rated PG Columbia/Tristar Home Video

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Starring Campbell Scott, Steve Martin. Released to DVD on October 6, 1998.

I'll be honest with you, I wasn't especially looking forward to screening The Spanish Prisoner. Having seen such other Mamet productions as About Last Night..., Homicide, Glengarry Glen Ross, and House of Games, one trait that predominated through his material was a seamy, gritty look at the situations at hand. Other critics have referred to this as Mamet's fantastic sense of realism--my own opinion on this is that some 'realism' is better left unseen; crack babies and pedophiles preying on 5 year olds are a realistic too, but you don't see many filmmakers running to capture that reality on celluloid. Realistic or not though, I wasn't sure if I was ready for another dose of Mamet's abrasive and heavy-handed dealings. However, the material in The Spanish Prisoner couldn't be further from this.

Rated a surprising PG by the MPAA (meaning there was no swearing, no nudity, or mention of the sport of cock-fighting), Mamet opts against looking at the lives of small time con men in bars, brat-pack yuppies with relationship trouble, or the intense world of real estate, and chooses to examine the life of a white collar businessman, played by Campbell Scott, who has pioneered a revolutionary business technique that will generate vast amounts of income for whichever company that possesses the technology. While on business/vacation in the Caribbean, Scott meets and befriends Julian Dell, Steve Martin in a subdued and dramatic performance, a millionaire industrialist. Martin mentions that he will be in New York City in the near future and asks if Scott would be interested in joining him for dinner. Scott agrees, the two share dinner, and thus begins the turbulent, constantly churning plotline of Mamet's The Spanish Prisoner.

With its many twists and turns, The Spanish Prisoner is vaguely reminiscent of The Game and Bryan Singer's superb film, The Usual Suspects. Despite stunning performances by Scott, Martin, and Pidgeon, Mamet's script is the true star of The Spanish Prisoner. One of the hardest things for an author or screenwriter to create, is a work that has the overall appearance of traveling in one direction, while actually moving in the opposite direction, without giving away the fact that the reader, or viewer, is purposely being mislead; in essence the creation of a fictional confidence (con) scheme. The beauty of a fictional con scheme like The Spanish Prisoner comes with the wonderfully laid set-up. A weaker introduction to the characters and situation would have resulted in a much less enjoyable film. Mamet, however, avoids this trap, using brilliant colors and stylish settings to draw the viewer into the story. We are introduced to Scott, his position in the company, his mathematical formula, Martin, and Scott's assistant, Pidgeon, and have begun to empathize with them and understand their mannerisms and ways of thinking. Suddenly, just as we have begun to settle into a sense of comfort, Mamet changes the direction of the movie, pulling the proverbial rug out from underneath our feet, landing us in a familiar, yet strangely different world, where people aren't necessarily who they say they are. This experience, this sudden removal of knowledge as to other people are, and consequently, who you are, is not an everyday occurrence, lest you be in a surprisingly unique situation, and in this sense, very enjoyable to experience... especially since it is happening within the confines of a work of cinematic fiction.

The acting in The Spanish Prisoner, as I mentioned previously, is delightful, Mamet's direction capable and deceptively unassuming, and his script a gem. This is David Mamet at his best.