The Spanish Prisoner
| The Spanish Prisoner | |
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| Directed by | David Mamet |
| Produced by | Jean Doumanian |
| Written by | David Mamet |
| Starring | Campbell Scott Steve Martin Rebecca Pidgeon Ricky Jay Ben Gazzara Felicity Huffman |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics |
| Release date(s) |  September 8, 1997 (Toronto Film Festival) April 3, 1998 August, 1998 (Edinburgh Film Festival |
| Running time | 110 minutes |
| Language | English |
The Spanish Prisoner is a 1997 American suspense film, written and directed by David Mamet and starring Campbell Scott, Steve Martin, Rebecca Pidgeon, Ben Gazzara and Ricky Jay. The film tells the story of an elaborate confidence game, known as the Spanish Prisoner.
In 1999 the film was nominated by the Mystery Writers of America for the Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay but lost out to Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight.[1]
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[edit] Plot
Joe Ross (Campbell Scott) is a corporate engineer who has recently invented a very lucrative industrial process that has not yet been patented. While on a corporate retreat at an island resort, Joe befriends a wealthy stranger, Jimmy Dell (Steve Martin), and one of the company's new secretaries, Susan Ricci (Rebecca Pidgeon).
Jimmy wants to introduce Joe socially to his sister. Back home in America, he suggests that Joe's company and his boss, Mr. Klein (Ben Gazzara), might not give him fair compensation for his work. A flirtatious Susan also makes vague suggestions that Joe should trust no one.
Jimmy convinces Joe to use his legal counsel and bring the only copy of the process to their meeting. Joe learns that the sister is a ruse and that Jimmy is actually a confidence man, attempting to steal his valuable work. Joe contacts an FBI agent named Pat McCune he met on the island and is enlisted in a sting operation. To his horror, Joe learns that McCune is actually part of Jimmy's con game. His process is stolen and he has been thoroughly swindled.
Joe attempts to explain what happened to his employer and the police, but his story sounds far-fetched. The con has made it appear that he has sold his process to the Japanese. He is also framed for the murder of his co-developer of the process, George Lang (Ricky Jay).
On the run from the law, Joe reconnects with Susan, who believes his story and continues to express a romantic interest in him. Joe remembers that the hotel where the island retreat took place maintains a video surveillance, which could prove that Jimmy Dell was there. Susan loyally accompanies Joe in his quest, but she, too, turns out to be involved in this elaborate con.
Jimmy comes to kill Joe on a ferry, seemingly alone except for Susan and a couple of Japanese tourists. The final step of this con is going to be Joe's death, made to appear as a suicide. Jimmy suddenly is hit with a tranquilizer dart shot by one of the "tourists." They are, in fact, US Marshals who have been monitoring Jimmy's con since the beginning. Jimmy and Susan are taken off to jail.
[edit] Cast
- Campbell Scott as Joe Ross
- Steve Martin as Jimmy Dell
- Rebecca Pidgeon as Susan
- Ben Gazzara as Mr. Klein
- Ricky Jay as George Lang
- Felicity Huffman as FBI Agent McCune
- Ed O'Neill as FBI Team Leader
[edit] Reception
The film has been generally well received by critics and fans alike. The aggregate review website Rotten Tomatoes recorded an 89%[2] fresh rating for the film as of February 5, 2008 while, as of the same date, another aggregate review website, Metacritic, recorded a score of 70%,[3] classified as Generally favorable reviews by the website's rating system. Film critic Roger Ebert awarded the film 3½ stars out of 4 calling it "delightful" and comparing it to works of Alfred Hitchcock.[4] James Berardinelli of Reelviews.net, who gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, also compared Mamet's script to Hitchcock's works claiming that it "supplies us with a seemingly-endless series of twists and turns, only a fraction of which are predictable" as well as praising the actors by saying that "nearly every major performance is impeccable".[5]
Reviewer Paul Tatara, on the other hand, criticized the film for using well-worn plot mechanisms, "stiff characterizations and ridiculous line readings".[6]
[edit] Background information
A short story by Arthur Train, also entitled "The Spanish Prisoner," was published by The Cosmopolitan Magazine in March 1910.[7]
The title of the film is a direct reference to the confidence trick of the same name, and in fact, the trick serves as part of the plot of the film.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ "1999 Edgar Award Nominees". http://www.mysterynet.com/edgars/1999/. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ^ The Spanish Prisoner at Rotten Tomatoes. Accessed February 5, 2008.
- ^ The Spanish Prisoner at Metacritic. Accessed February 5, 2008.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. "The Spanish Prisoner", Chicago Sun-Times, April 24, 1998. Accessed February 5, 2008.
- ^ Berardinelli, James. "The Spanish Prisoner", Reelviews.net, 1998. Accessed July 1, 2010.
- ^ "Review: Stilted script traps actors in 'Spanish Prisoner'", CNN, 1998-04-05
- ^ Train, Arthur. "The Spanish Prisoner." The Cosmopolitan Magazine New York, NY, vol. 43, March 1910, pp. 465–474.
- ^ "The Spanish Prisoner". Archived v.31 #137. MrBrownMovies. 10 April, 1998. http://mrbrownmovies.com/movierpt31.html#prisoner. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
[edit] External links
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