The Spanish Prisoner (1997)
The Cast
Campbell Scott .... Joe Ross
Steve Martin .... Jimmy Dell
Rebecca Pidgeon .... Susan Ricci
Ben Gazzara .... Mr. Klein
Ricky Jay .... George Lang
Felicity Huffman .... Pat McCune
Jonathan Katz .... Lawyer
Ed O'Neill .... FBI Team Leader
Clark Gregg .... FBI Sniper
Written and directed by the excellent David Mamet, The Spanish Prisoner could probably be best described as Heist Lite. It deals with the art of a masterfully executed con game. So masterful that at times it's unfortunately completely unbelievable, which of course must mean it could actually happen to someone. Joe Ross (Scott) is the creator of an enconomic system simply referred to as The Process (there's your McGuffin). Hired by a company to develop this formula for economic domination, he's sworn to the utmost secrecy about it's existence and every aspect of his job is under lock and key.
Joe's only real colleague at the company is a lawyer named George Lang (Jay), a cryptically-speaking fellow that seems to enjoy life. Joe's boss Mr. Klein (Gazzara) has cut short any conversation Joe has attempted to have with him about compensation for the creation of The Process, since Joe essentially signed a contract on a work-for-hire basis. Needless to say, Joe has become increasingly worried that he won't see any of the fat amounts of cash that The Process is destined to bring the company, especially since meeting Jimmy Dell (Martin) on a company retreat in the Carribean.
Throughout conversations with Jimmy, Joe becomes convinced that the company is going to screw him over when it comes time to show their appreciation for his creation. This leads Joe to put into motion a plan to keep The Process out of the hands of the company until he gets confirmation that he'll be taken care of when it pans out. There's even more plotlines to discover throughout the film, but giving anymore away would definitely give it all away. Or would it?
The acting of the entire cast is almost perfect for this style of movie. Campbell Scott seems to have problems adapting to the Mamet style at first, but eventually it just becomes a part of his character. If you like your movies to be of the fast-paced nature, I advise you to stay far away. With the abscence of any discernible score, the first half of the movie seems to practically crawl along. The film is saved by the emergence of Steve Martin's character, a winning, charismatic mystery man that introduces the drama into Joe Ross' life. As Joe's work colleage Susan Ricci, Rebecca Pidgeon is once again at her talkative best. The thing with Pidgeon is that you either love or hate her style, and depending on the movie, I usually enjoy her.
There are lots of familiar Mamet faces throughout the movie, and that will keep most people watching. This is definitely a hard movie to love, thanks to the pacing and the lack of energy right from the get-go. It's a movie that takes it's time to get going, but takes just a little too much time in the end. It's a fine mystery thriller, but will bore your average moviegoer is what I'm trying to say (even though I probably typed it three different times, three different ways).
3 / 5