Cheap The Spanish Prisoner (DVD) (Steve Martin, Ben Gazzara) (David Mamet) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Spanish Prisoner

David Mamet has proven his writing worth many times over. For quite some time, he has been one of the finest dramatic authors for the stage, and has recently proven his ability to write for the screen with Glengarry Glen Ross, Wag The Dog, and the excellent script that is The Spanish Prisoner. We have here the definition of a "taut thriller."

The acting is quite good. One weak spot can be found in Rebecca Pidgeon, but her flat and lackluster performance is generally made up for by Campbell Scott and Steve Martin. The acting coupled with the script immediately draws you into this intriguing story of The Process and how it affects its creator, Joe Ross (Scott).

As good as Mamet's script may be, however, his heavy-handed directing tips its hand. There are enough small hints in the dialogue, enough subtle clues in the surrounding, that the plot's twists and turns would be believable. Unfortunately, Mamet felt the need to throw a few blatant foreshadowed bits in our face to dumb down the film to be sure everyone would "get" the ending. It wasn't necessary, and it turned a great script into a good movie.

Is it worth seeing? Sure; it's a great example of how a thriller should be written. Is it worth buying to watch again and again? No. Besides, the DVD features are near nil -- it's got a trailer, and 3-channel dolby surround sound. Save your money, and make this a renter.

"Beware of all enterprises which require new clothes."
The art of the confidence game, or con, for short...very few manage to bring it to the screen as well or a clever as David Mamet, and The Spanish Prisoner (1997) is, while not in my opinion his best, but better than most, and certainly is a good display of Mamet's writing and style for direction. Written and directed by Mamet (House of Games, Glengarry Glen Ross, Wag the Dog), the film stars Campbell Scott, Steve Martin, Ben Gazzara, and Rebecca Pidgeon (who's married to Mamet).

Scott plays Joseph Ross, an inventor who creates a top secret mathematical formula of sorts intended to allow for the manipulation of the stock market somehow, and has the potential to make a lot, a whole lot, of money for the company he works for...problem is Ross is beginning to have doubts about receiving his fair share, what he believes he's entitled to, from the company that plans to utilize the formula. As he tries to negotiate an equitable agreement with the company, he meets a well to do businessman by the name of Julian 'Jimmy' Dell (Martin) to which they become friendly, with Jimmy even offering to assist Joseph by putting him in contact with a lawyer that deals with contract law and proprietary information. But nothing is what it seems in this film, as Joseph soon learns as he's accused of theft of the formula, and even murder, as evidence begins appearing that certainly points the finger at him, becoming the perfect patsy. Will he be able to fully understand the intricacies of the con and learn who's involved before he captured by the police and/or FBI? I know, but you'll just have to watch to find out...

I really enjoyed this film, and all its' intricate twists and turns. It's difficult to talk about without giving anything away, but the story is truly a wonderful mystery that will keep you guessing until the end, even if you manage to uncover some of the elements for yourself. The crafting of the con within the story is really good, even though we see so very little of the machinations and planning behind it, instead seeing only the end results, as Scott's character is drawn into a world of fabrication, deceit, and lies. My favorite role here was the character played by Steve Martin. I thought he did an excellent job presenting a charming and sophisticated character, playing the rare serious role. I do enjoy many of his comedic roles, but it's always a treat to see an actor successfully break out of his/her element and show they are more than what we see on the surface. Scott was good, although I felt his character was just a bit too gullible at times, especially given the nature of his work. I've never really cared for him much as an actor as he reminds me too much of that lame white guy from the 3rd season of MTV's The Real World (I think his name was Judd). He was such a smarmy, wishy washy annoyance always following the majority, trying to present an image of the understanding, evolved, sophisticated, yet oh-so-sensitive male in touch with his feminine side, ever careful never to appear politically incorrect for fear of being offensive to the viewers on the other end of the camera, spouting meaningless phrases that make you want to punch him in the face like "I feel your pain", or "Why can't we all just get along?" but I digress...

A couple of things about Mamet's movies, sort of his signatures to me, is the direction by Mamet giving the film the feel of not so much watching a film but of watching a play on film unfold outside of a stage and also the often times odd dialogue spoken throughout by a number of lead characters. I think the latter element is what may put some viewers off, as it can sound very unrealistic and sometime contrived. I mean have you ever heard anyone say, "Worry is like interest paid in advance on a debt that never comes due"? It sounds nice, but I know of no one in real life that talks like this, spouting strange and introspective statements off the cuff (you could catch a beating in my neighborhood for doing so). I suppose the character played by Rebecca Pidgeon had the most noticeably odd lines, especially seeming out of her character. Maybe these looked good on paper, but I feel it takes a really good actor to pull them off on screen, and make them sound natural. I like Rebecca Pidgeon, as she's very sexy in a demure way and, I believe, a capable actress, but I felt she wasn't able to pull off some of the lines she was given here, within the context of her character.

The picture presented here looks very clear and crisp, and the disc is two sided, with a wide screen version on one side, and full screen format on the other. I did feel the audio was a bit soft, but English subtitles are available. I did find the subtitles didn't always match exactly what was spoken, and I thought that a little weird. Not much here with regards to special features other than a theatrical trailer and brief production notes on the insert inside the DVD.

Overall, I think The Spanish Prisoner is a very good, low-key mystery thriller that will keep you on your toes until the end and does have replay value if only to better understand the layered complexities within the story (I've seen it twice), but I still feel a better Mamet film to watch is the first he wrote and directed in House of Games, with Lindsay Crouse and Joe Mantegna.(...)

If this is Mamet's best...
...then I'll pass on the rest. Seriously, The Spanish Prisoner represents a decent movie idea soured by numerous miscasts, spotty acting, and deadful dialogue. I really can't believe the praise it was given when it came out. I really had to wonder if this was the same movie that the critics saw.

Steve Martin is quite good (a welcome change from his hammy, over-the-top comedy performances) and Campbell Scott could certainly hold his own, despite his character's too-flawless-to-be-believeable persona. Rebecca Pidgeon is terrible. Every time she appeared on screen, I just rolled my eyes, counting the seconds until she went away.

The premise certainly is interesting. I like plot twists just as much as anyone else, but the end of the film does not fill in the holes like other thrillers do (think The Usual Suspects). The pacing is really uneven and at times you're convinced that Mamet was directing a play and not a movie.

That can be blamed on Mamet's dumb dialogue. Rarely do I ever hear people speak the way they do in The Spanish Prisoner apart from other really bad dramas. The only suspension of disbelief is that you won't believe this came from such an experienced man.

I'm serious, if this is David Mamet's best movie, I'm out.