Review of The Spanish Prisoner (1997) by Doctor S — 04 Jan 2010
The more I think about events in 'The Spanish Prisoner,' the less I like it so I'd better write this review while it's still at 2 stars. I simply don't buy these elaborate con schemes that involves everyone with a speaking role.
'Criminal' is another example. The fact that this swindle relies completely on a mathematician stumbling across the business card of someone he met briefly on vacation while thumbing through a friend's scrapbook redefines implausible.
And that's just one of the many machinations required for this scheme to work! David Mamet's script is typically wry and stilted, but Mametspeak requires a certain delivery to pull off and as such David is not a very good director of his own material.
Rebecca Pidgeon in particular comes off very badly as a line reader. Try 'American Buffalo' instead for a much better example of a Mamet con story onscreen.
This review of The Spanish Prisoner (1997) was written by Doctor S on 04 Jan 2010.
The Spanish Prisoner has generally received positive reviews.
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