Review of The Spanish Prisoner (1997) by Aidan H — 17 Sep 2011

David Mamet's signature stagey dialogue is once again evident in this unconvincing and unlikely tale of double-crosses and confidence tricks, all of it derailed by glaring plot holes, inconsistencies and twists a toddler could spot coming a mile off.

Among them: how did the con men know the hapless victim would use the fake FBI agent's business card and not go to the FBI direct? How come Ross couldn't tell the difference in weight between a disposable camera and an automatic pistol? And why did he never think to check the destination of his plane ticket? Mamet loves his confidence tricksters but here, as in his equally transparent House of Games, his characters' flat speech patterns and lack of physicality defeat the suspense expected from the genre.

Of the cast, limp biscuit Campbell Scott makes for a dreary lead while the team dedicated to his downfall are ridiculously readable from the offset (especially Steve Martin as a thoroughly implausible tycoon and a suspiciously well-dressed secretary played by Pidgeon).

Technically, its as bland as its characters with its TV movie lighting and composition working overtime to protect us from any potential atmosphere. My advice to Mamet is to either drop the con scripts altogether or write characters that don't give away their nefarious intentions in the first reel.

Laughable, if not for the fact that Mamet clearly regards his audience as stupid as STP's lame protagonist. Star for Ms. Pidgeon's cute costumes.