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THE SPANISH PRISONER Send This Review to a Friend
David Mamet, best known for his playwriting but skilled in filmmaking as well, has written and directed an intriguing, clever mix of mystery and suspense, THE SPANISH PRISONER. An exceptionally good cast adds to the fun of the plot, which involves industrial espionage and suspicious characters who may not be what they seem to be. Campbell Scott is first-rate as the naïve inventor of a process that stands to make big bucks and falls under the influence of a an apparently wealthy stranger, deftly portrayed by Steve Martin, who offers him advice and help to avoid being taken advantage of by his employer.
The women in the stew are skillfully enacted by Rebecca Pidgeon and Felicity Huffman, with Ben Gazzara and Ricky Jay strong in other key roles. Mamet has concocted a winner worth seeing for the sheer amusement of trying to figure out what's happening, and even if you catch on quickly there's fun in watching the yarn played out by the very entertaining cast in attractively filmed locations. A Sony Pictures Classics release.
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