Customer Reviews
trust no one 
2008-09-08
If you enjoy movies about bone-deep lies and deception, where you do not know until the very end what really happened (and even then you have some lingering doubts), then you will love this movie. The acting is top-notch and the writing terrific: every line of dialogue is significant, but, of course, you don't know why until much later.
If you liked The Manchurian Candidate (Special Edition), Nine Queens, The Usual Suspects (Special Editon) or Diabolique (Criterion Collection Spine #35), this one is for you.
Just when you think you have it all figured out... 
2007-10-13
About a third of the way into "The Spanish Prisoner," I was beating my head on the sofa and my husband considered turning the movie off. But I am tenacious and wanted to hear it out.
I'm glad I did because there was a smart twist towards the end and you have to look beyond what is obviously going on to figure it out before it happens.
you have to be ready 
2007-08-14
I wish people would leave Rebecca Pidgeon alone. The Spanish Prisoner was not a vehicle for her talent. Her acting is stylized and somewhat narrow, but she's the best there is at this kind of droll presence...the deadpan delivery, the silent intensity, the understated cleverness. You have to discover what she means... so if you are a viewer who looks at films more than once, who likes to return to characters of a decent plot to study sets, props, costumes (and what they reveal), then see her in Mamet's The Winslow Boy. Lucky lucky man to have her in that film.
Huge disappointment 2007-05-13
This film dealing with industrial espionage (the process involved is a McGuffin, since the movie never tells what is exactly about) starts well. However, as plot twist after plot twist accumulates, our interest wanes, and by the time the movie ends we just don't care anymore about what's going on. There is a final twist that is totally unbelievable since Steve Martin would have to anticipate the way that Campbell Scott would react to every situation. Finally, Campbell Scott and Rebecca Pidgeon might be the least charismatic screen couple ever. Their total lack of chemistry is the final nail on the coffin of this movie.
Homage to Hitchcock 
2007-05-12
Plenty of other reviews have summarized the plot and voiced concerns about the acting so I won't add to that. The acting isn't perfect, there are some "loose ends" and the dialogue takes some getting used to. But it's a brilliant film in many ways and very entertaining.
This is a fascinating film, despite its flaws. It's a must-see for Hitchcock fans (just like "Dead Again" with Kenneth Branaugh) for all the wonderful Hitchcockian touches Mamet inserts. The music, the camera work, all resemble Hitchcock's style. Hitchcock liked to include what he called "refrigerator scenes"-- that is, scenes that can't be easily explained. He said that people would go home and stand around the fridge talking about them and trying to figure them out. (The most famous is in "Vertigo" when the Kim Novak character is seen in a window but when the apartment is searched, it's empty and no explanation is offered.) Several scenes in this film qualify for that- how does the certificate transform? How did they pull off the restaurant/club thing? Also, Hitchcock was famous for his "MacGuffins"-- items which moved the plot along but really were nothing. (Again, a famous one would be the money that's stolen in "Psycho"- by the end of the movie no one cares about the money.) The "formula" appears to be a MacGuffin-- just something to get the story going- it really doesn't matter whether the formula exists, is a fake, or whatever. The discussion about the plane in the islands is another MacGuffin.
So why is it no longer available on DVD? C'mon Sony-- release it again please.
Does this tooth abscess smelly funny to you? 
2007-02-16
Campbell Scott plays a green young technocrat who invents a secret and highly successful high-tech process that, it appears, most of the free world would like to get their hands on. His own company may not be dealing with him fairly, and competitors are lurking around every street corner and kiddie carousel in New York (not to mention Caribbean hideaways) hoping to steal, cajole, or trick him out of the formula. The plot is as full of switchbacks as a mountain highway, and the delights are in watching it unfold around Scott, who is not so much of a naif that he doesn't catch on that not only his formula, but his life, are in dire danger. Steve Martin is consummately assured--and scary as hell--as a wealthy big shot determined to come out on top. David Mamet's script is refreshingly free from his trademark mannerisms; it's his most satisfying film since 1987's
House of Games.
--Anne Hurley
Perfect 2006-09-29
Loved this movie. It had great mystery and tongue and cheek humor at the same time. I really don't want to give anything away because I knew nothing about this film when I saw it, which was great because there were so many twists that kept me completely interested throughout. The main character, Joe, can't trust anyone and you'll see why. Enjoy.
Good movie 2006-06-19
This movie is really good. The actors and the plot of the story are good. The movie is really long. The idea behind this movie is smart.
Eccentric Bliss 2006-05-25
This has been my favorite film for quite a while and I've seen it many times. Some of the criticisms one will read about this film are exactly the reasons why I love it so much. The odd manner of language used is a charm to me. Pidgeon is wonderful in her role and performs it perfectly. Martin is scary in this unusual role for him and Scott plays an excellent naive boy scout type. This film is definitely not for everyone.....in fact, most may find it annoying or hard to watch. I find it delightful and challenging. I give this intelligent PG movie accolades for not succumbing to the sleaze and vulgarity that a lot of films portray. A work of art. Five stars.
A paranoia-bound mystery with more holes than Swiss cheese 2006-05-23
Campbell Scott gives a fine, restrained and ultimatley unbelievable performance as the sap in this film rendition of David Mamet's Kafkaesque screenplay about deceit, paranois, theft and idiocy. Playwright Mamet has traversed this ground before in 1992's "The Water Engine", a similarly droll screenplay about which Amazon gives this synopsis:
"In the 1930s, Charles Lang invents an engine that runs using water for fuel. But when he tries to get it patented, he is first offered a ridiculously low amount. When he refuses, he is suddenly several people are pressuring him to sell. The big oil companies don't want the competition. Now he has to try and keep them from getting his idea, and somehow get it published. "
If you substitute Scott's late 1990s draft of an unstated new technology for the water engine, you have the makings of "The Spanish Prisoner", which is defined in the film as the oldest scam in the book: A guy marries a Spanish queen but can't bring her home. To rescue her and her fortune in Spain, he must have the riches of someone else invested. This is what Scott faces and falls for.
I like Campbell Scott as an actor and think he does fine work, but his role is too comfortable with being the sap in this film. Even when circumstances dent the denseness of his senses and he finally realizes he's being scammed, he still falls for the girl and unwittingly participates in a set up murder. This is a guy smart enough to invent a new technology that can't find a way not to participate in a set up!
My wife, who is something of an expert at figuring out the clues in mysteries like this one, pegged the two earliest clues immediately after they were presented -- Scott being given a Swiss bank account (not full of cheese!) and signing his name to a fraudlent document that comes back to haunt him later.
Similar events occurred during Mamet's "The Water Engine", whose premise seemed more well thought out and realistic than the never stated technology of this film. Where Kafka's paranoia was under the umbrella of post World War II European communism, Mamet's paranoia is built around corporate intrigue where all that pretend to be your allies are indeed your competitors and are out to fleece you from your fortune. In this vein, poor Campbell Scott doesn't have a friend in the whole flick. Even his erstwhile boss (Ben Gazarra) is involved in the scam.
Steve Martin is hit and miss in an unsuitably dramatic and despicable role that is pretty much out of character for him. Other supporting characters, incluidng the fetching Mrs. Mamet as one of several femme fatales, are effective in a monochromatic way. The script begins with promise but shows its superficiality the longer it unfolds. It becomes ridiculous at the end, almost cartoonish.
Still this can be a pleasant experience for mystery watchers that will fill an evening when nothing better is available. It is far from Scott's best work (try "The Daytrippers" if you can find it) and probably isn't among Mamet's best either. The aura of suspicion, deceit and paranoia Mamet's script tries to construct is partially successfully but falls under the weight of the story's fallibility.
