SOURCE: Shargel, Raphael. “Fallen Innocents.” New Leader 131, no. 6 (4-18 May 1998): 20-1.

In the following excerpt, Shargel praises the complex plot and enthralling nature of The Spanish Prisoner, lauding Mamet's use of suspense and surprise.

David Mamet's favorite game is the high stakes con. In his best movies, a team of conspirators fleeces a privileged and gullible individual. But while most examples of this generally lighthearted genre focus on the machinations of the sharpers, Mamet's much darker works put the sucker at the center. His protagonists risk everything they hold dear—their financial resources, their integrity, their honor, even their sanity—and, in most cases, are forced to relinquish them. His heroes suffer considerably, yet Mamet constructs his plots so that the audience will thrill to the scheming of the antagonists. The traps they set are admirably subtle, entrancingly sneaky. Becoming involved in a Mamet piece means taking delight...