The title of this movie would suggest that it is a prison drama with a Spanish-speaking main character. But it is not. Instead, “The Spanish Prisoner” alludes to a confidence trick in which a skilled con artist dupes a naive victim out of his money, which is the primary idea of the film.
The Spanish Prisoner begins in the Caribbean islands, where a corporate engineer named Joe Ross (Campbell Scott) pitches a million-dollar invention called “Process” to his company’s board of directors, including Mr. Klein (Ben Gazzara). The details of his innovation are kept secret, and no one knows about it except for him and George Lang (Ray Price), the company lawyer who also happens to be Joe’s close friend. In addition, there is Susan (Rebecca Pidgeon), the office secretary, who is infatuated with Joe and constantly strives to impress him. On the island, Joe meets and befriends an enigmatic man named Julian Dell (Steve Martin), who comes across as wealthy and is having an affair with his friend’s wife. He gains Joe’s friendship and trust by playing the game of treating Joe harshly and neglecting him, then apologizing to him later and embracing him as if he were a member of his family. But when a million dollars are up for grabs, murder, greed, and betrayal are inevitable outcomes, which is what happens in this film.
David Mamet, who wrote and directed the movie, does an excellent job of instilling the feeling of “something’s wrong” from the very first scene. For example, after Julian tells Joe he owns a seaplane, Susan shows Joe photographic proof that shows otherwise, leading Joe to suspect who Julian is. Another example is when Julian gives Joe a gift to deliver to his sister in New York. On the flight back to New York, Joe’s mind is planted with suspicion about the gift’s contents, leading him to panic and rush to the restroom to check if it contains anything illegal. These “doubt planting” scenes are skillfully written to plant seeds of skepticism in Joe’s and the audience’s minds.
The film’s set-up is suspenseful and Hitchcockian filmmaking at its finest, as it keeps you guessing about various possibilities. The movie also profits from the impeccable dialogue from David Mamet, which is inventive, witty, funny, and in a class of its own. For instance, when Joe finds George hungover in the morning and asks how he is doing, George replies, “I put a thief in my mouth to steal my brains.” Or when Julian is describing the rules of working with someone to Joe, he says,” Always do business as if the person you are doing business with is trying to screw you, because he probably is.” This type of Mamet-style dialogue appears throughout the film.
Unfortunately, the film’s main flaw is its underdeveloped characterization of the lead character, Joe Ross. I found him to be a bland and unremarkable protagonist with no distinctive character traits. Additionally, for someone who is an innovator, he comes off as a foolish guy as the film proceeds because Mamet makes him that way by exaggerating the most obvious clues, which the audience understands well before he does. Mamet also employs numerous Chekov’s gun examples (a book, a membership card, an airline ticket, a contact card, etc.) throughout the film, to the point where a viewer may begin to anticipate which one would be used in which scene.
Although the film’s setup was engaging, the payoff felt rushed, as it ended abruptly with just one brief explanation, leaving me wanting more. Despite its flaws, The Spanish Prisoner is a thoroughly enjoyable film that reveals both David Mamet’s strengths and weaknesses.
The Spanish Prisoner movie link: IMDB
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