Details
Movie Description
Moody, austere, and unabashedly clever, THE SPANISH PRISONER is familiar ground for puzzle-loving writer-director David Mamet. Campbell Scott plays the Hitchcockian hero Joe Ross, an unassuming fall guy who has invented a mysterious process worth an unnamed, but presumably enormous, figure. Joe's share in the reward is uncertain, however, and his growing nervousness is subtly stoked by Jimmy Dell (Steve Martin), a charming and apparently wealthy new friend. Suddenly Joe finds himself wondering who he can trust: his boss, his friends, Jimmy, the FBI, or even the girl at work who has a crush on him (Rebecca Pidgeon, speaking her husband's lines as only she can). The big con is always fun to watch from the inside, but Mamet knows it's even more fun when the audience is on the outside, left to imagine the con as all-encompassing so that everyone and everything is suspect. The fine ensemble acting and terse, loaded dialogue add to the atmosphere of total suspense while the muted but rich production design produces a too-believable longing in Joe, whose tiniest greedy qualm is still enough to spell disaster.
Synopsis
Joe Ross (Campbell Scott) is the inventor of a secret process that will make the company he works for very rich. But Joe isn't sure he'll get a piece of the pie, and his dissatisfaction makes him the perfect prey for con artists and manipulators. Director David Mamet manages to pull off the big con--even though Joe and the audience both know it's coming--then packs in more twists than a Bavarian pretzel factory.
Film Notes
Filmed on location in Boston, New York City, and Florida.
Star Rebecca Pidgeon (Susan Ricci) is married to writer-director David Mamet.
Mamet and friend Ricky Jay (George Lang) have collaborated in the past; Mamet directed a television program showcasing Jay's world-class sleight-of-hand routine.
Mamet claims that he got the idea for the film when he encountered a real-life con man--a practitioner of the big con--at a convention in Las Vegas. Mamet was not taken for any money.
The film was screened at the Sundance Film Festival.
Industry Reviews
"...[A] Rubik's Cube of a suspense film....As satisfying as a really good crossword puzzle..." -- Rating: A-
Burr
"...David Mamet's craftiest and most satisfying cinematic puzzle....THE SPANISH PRISONER is played by an ensemble cast that never misses a beat of the filmmaker's staccato rhythm..."
New York Times - Janet Maslin (04/03/1998)
"...A twisting tale of paranoia....Martin does a nice turn as a clever con artist..."
Box Office - Susan Green (04/01/1998)
"...Mamet is at his best examining the three-way power grab....Intricate....[A] complex look at the culture of amorality..."
Premiere - Christine Spines (04/01/1998)
"...THE SPANISH PRISONER is the smoothest and most convincing of Mamet's elaborate charades and features intriguing performances by Steve Martin and Campbell Scott..."
Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan (04/03/1998)
"...THE SPANISH PRISONER resembles Alfred Hitchcock in the way that everything takes place in full view....THE SPANISH PRISONER is delightful..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (04/24/1998)
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