Popcorn Reviews With Cybèle: The Spanish Prisoner

By Cybèle Elaine Werts  
CybeleW@aol.com

First  published in the Shelburne News, Shelburne Vermont

Popcorn Kernel Rating (out of four): 4 Kernels for low impact high intensity suspense to the very last unpopped kernel in your bowl.

I started hearing about David Mamet on Seinfeld, but to my shame, didn’t have a clue who he was. The only thing I did know was that I’d best find out before anyone found out my dark secret. The thing is that Seinfeld is the quintessential television show of my 30 something age group; the coalescence of our identity. My awareness of this fact meant that I had dropped the cultural ball somewhere along the way, not to mention my "status" as movie reviewer. So, for those of you still in the dark, here’s the deal. David Mamet is known for both directing and/or writing many films including The Untouchables, Rising Sun, The Edge, and Wag The Dog. One of his films, Glengarry Glen Ross, is in my Top Movie Pics list, as is The Spanish Prisoner. His writing is characterized by a peculiar tone, kind of real life and not real life all at the same time.

Why is this important? Aside from being able to impress your friends, you will actually enjoy the movies listed above because he is a top notch writer and director. (I didn’t list the ones I hadn’t seen). The Spanish Prisoner is one of the better ones, and well worth renting. The title refers to an old con game used to dupe Joe Ross (Campbell Scott) a highly ethical scientist, out of his secret and highly covetible "process." Since Joe is not getting much in the way of monetary compensation, his ethics are all the more admirable even as he gets caught up in a complex web of overt and covert trickery. While the suspense is very low level (translation: free of background music in a minor key) I was caught up in the story from the very first scene to the very last coup d’etat. Try as I did, I couldn’t figure things out and that was all the fun of it. There are both good and bad cloaks, and red herrings, and things that look so obvious they just have to be fake but aren’t. You may never have heard of this movie prior to it’s advent in video (I sure hadn’t) but every cent is worth the rent!

Suggested Gustatory Accompaniment: This movie is the perfect thing for a date-free Friday evening and a big plate of linguini and garlicky tomato sauce.

Copyright 2000