Review 17: The Spanish Prisoner

The Spanish Prisoner is a great suspense film an one of David Mamet's best films,

Joe Ross (Campbell Scott) has just created a "process" that stands to make his company and his boss, Klein (Ben Gazzara), millions of dollars. At a clandestine meeting in the Caribbean, Ross discusses the details of the process with company executives. There, purely by chance, or so he believes, he meets the wealthy, enigmatic Jimmy Dell (Steve Martin), and the two strike up an unusual friendship. Dell informs Ross that he's naïve to believe that his company will fairly compensate him for his valuable work. Upon returning home, Ross becomes paranoid that Dell is right, and he takes steps to protect his invention, becoming unsure if he can trust Klein or even his own love-struck assistant (Rebecca Pidgeon). When Ross discovers that Dell has lied to him about his identity, he contacts the FBI -- he then finds himself set up as a murder suspect who learns, almost too late, to trust no one.


The plot is so creative and smart, you'll be constantly on the on the edge of your seat the whole time your watching it. Director David Mamet does a good job at keeping the suspense up and hot, the score is one of the greatest scores ever composed, the locals are fabulous, the costumes are well made, the cinematography is gorgeous and the editing is great.

The cast was great too, Campbell Scott makes a charismatic lead, Steve Martin makes a surprisingly good villain and the rest of the cast is great.


The main theme of of The Spanish Prisoner is "You never know who anybody is" and I think thats a very important theme in life and why its so great.


A very good thriller. See it.

Comment if you have any ideas or suggestions for this review. 4.5/5


The Anonymous Critic