Date: Fri 01-May-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: CAROLL

Quick Words:

Spanish-Mamet-Scott-Trey

Full Text:

(rev "The Spanish Prisoner" for Now Playing)

Now Playing--

`Spanish Prisoner' Is Clever, Witty And Immensely Satisfying Mamet

By Trey Paul Alexander III

Back in college, my buddies and I would entertain ourselves by setting up our

own film festival weekends. We would come up with a theme -- "Great Action

Films," "The Godfather Trilogy," or "Harrison Ford/Sean Connery Flicks" -- and

then rent videos accordingly. If the gang were still together, I could see us

putting together an awesome bill of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo , David

Fincher's recent gem The Game , and the newest release from playwright,

screenwriter and director David Mamet, The Spanish Prisoner . Catch it,

currently playing at the Bethel Cinema, and you'll see why they're all a nice

fit.

Mamet is a man with a way with words. Not a stellar observation, mind you --

anyone even slightly familiar with his work can tell you that -- but pertinent

nonetheless. The Mamet of Glengarry Glen Ross or The Untouchables is known for

his rat-a-tat conversational rhythms, spicy exchanges and expletive-laced

monologues. But the Mamet of The Spanish Prisoner , which he wrote and

directed, takes a different, albeit just as stylized, tack.

The movie opens with a Caribbean rendezvous between top-ranking executives and

Joe Ross (Campbell Scott), a young businessman trying to convince them of the

lucrative potential of "The Process." What's The Process? What does it do?

Mamet begins by begging a host of questions that put the audience slightly off

balance. This sense of vertigo -- think the condition and Hitchcock film -- is

amplified by the characters' speech, which is made up of incomplete sentences

and phrases that continually cut off one another. It's like trying to listen

to talk radio while another station's signal keeps barging into the

conversation.

At first it's a bit maddening... then it's intriguing... Before long you're

completely engrossed in the ping-ponging dialogue and Mamet has you just where

he wants you. The Spanish Prisoner is not just an exercise in clever talk and

witty repartee, but a very cinematic film that uses words to hurl us into an

enjoyable and immensely satisfying maze of machinations and Hitchcock-style

twists. Be alert to Mamet's roving camera eye; there are many hints planted

throughout the film, along with some keen visual gags. (One character tells

Ross to "keep a sense of humor," advice that would serve the viewer well

also.)

Mamet uses the Hitchcock favorite of the MacGuffin -- The Process, in this

case -- to launch Ross into a slowly but surely constricting situation. As the

inventor of The Process, Ross grows concerned he will not be rightfully

rewarded by his boss (Ben Gazzara) and seeks to get financial guarantees from

him. When that fails, Ross seeks the advice of an acquaintance he met in the

Caribbean, an enigmatic fellow named Jimmy Dell (Steve Martin).

The Spanish Prisoner is one of those films I dare not say much more about for

fear that I'll blow one of the many plot twists. It's akin to inadvertently

revealing to someone who has never seen The Wizard of Oz that Dorothy just had

a bad dream. Or, even worse, revealing to your friend that the movie he/she is

about to see has a terrific "surprise ending." Why not just ruin it for them?

Mamet delivers a nicely tangled web of a picture that is almost sure to grip

even the most stubborn of audiences. Scott is engaging as the confused

protagonist, Martin is appropriately ambiguous as Dell, and Rebecca Pidgeon

(Mamet's real-life wife) is almost unnervingly bright-eyed as Ross' smitten

secretary. Now is your chance to see why The Spanish Prisoner (rated PG for

mild profanity) was a big hit at this year's Sundance Film Festival.