I loved THE SPANISH PRISONER and enjoyed the hell out of THE EDGE... for some odd reason, WAG THE DOG didn't do 'it' for me, but I am a fan of Mamet's work. His dialogue has a flavor that you either like or you don't. Sure, it is not 'realistic' dialogue... at least not for the people I encounter in the day to day life I lead. However, neither is the dialogue in any Hitchcock film, Bogart film... or Billy Wilder film. However... I still love them all...
Call me Marty Mcfly. Is it just me, or is David Mamet sometimes overrated. I mean, he is a good screenwriter, but he is best known for his supposedly realistic dialogue. Though I liked The Spanish Prisoner, The Edge and Wag The Dog, his dialogue sometimes seems too perfect. I just saw his latest film, The Oxford Boy, and this is finally a good film to showcase his abilities.
The film is set in London, or somewhere in England, and everybody speaks very properly. Or in other words, they speak very "Mamet"ly. Mamet also directed this adaption of the play. It stars Jeremy Northam, Nigel Hawthorne, and Mamet's wife, Rebecca Pidgeon.
The plot is simple for a Manet film. Hawthorne's son is expelled from military school after being accused of stealing a postal order worth 5 pounds. The son claims he is innocent. Northam plays the lawyer who defends the boy when his father thinks justice should be done. The film sounds like a courtroom thriler but there are almost no courtroom scenes. We find out if the boy is guilty early on so that takes away the whodunit aspect of the film. It is mostly a emotional drama with some suspense (what will the verdict be?).
Hawthorne is,as always, brilliant. Northam, who I've liked ever since he was the only good thing in that crap The Net, is also impressive. This is a well acted, moving film and any Mamet fan would love it. It's a step down from some of his past work for me, but he looks like he has another art-house hit on his hands. This is Marty Mcfly going back to the future.
