Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageThe Spanish Prisoner (1997)
Director: David Mamet
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
On a Caribbean trip to discuss his as yet secret, invaluable new 'process' with his boss Klein (Gazzara), whizz kid Joe Ross (Scott) has a strange, faintly aggressive encounter with rich sophisticate Jimmy Dell (Martin), who apologises by inviting Joe to dine with him and his sister back in New York. Though Susan (Pidgeon), a new, evidently adoring secretary at the company, tells Joe of her suspicions about the invite, he goes along and ends up agreeing to meet a lawyer Dell recommends in an effort to allay his fears about Klein ripping him off (suspicions which, ironically, Susan also entertains). Is she jealous? Just cautious? Or should Joe share her paranoia? You bet. Far from being the answer to Joe's dreams of fame and fortune, that Caribbean trip was the start of a nightmare. David Mamet's most consistently enjoyable film to date is a cool, typically clever con-trick drama packed with deliciously inventive twists that get ever more convoluted and unnerving as the plot proceeds. Where this particular scam saga succeeds over Mamet's earlier efforts is in the acting: Scott's stiff, slightly nerdy but just about sympathetic turn as Joe is characteristically subtle, Martin's oddly still, reptilian creepiness has never been used so well, and Pidgeon, Gazzara and Jay (as Joe's pal George) all lend impressive support.Author: GA
Cast & crew
Director: David Mamet
Producer: Jean Doumanian
Cast: Ben Gazzara, Felicity Huffman, Ricky Jay, Steve Martin, Rebecca Pidgeon, Campbell Scott full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Duration: 110 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now