He not only provides some of the films biggest laughs, but his role also supports an air of slight satire and stylized control that pervades the film. His characters spout rhetoric, seemingly heavy and meaningful, but in its reflexive nature, empty in real content. While the film's visual style may lack imagination, and its generic medium shot strategy and blanket lighting adds nothing to the film, it seems to suit the material just fine. With words, Mamet has successfully created his mileau - and herein lies the film's significance. In a movie age where Hollywood summons the special effect to mask weaknesses of the written word, or where misplaced noir revivals paint atmosphere on empty shells, with The Spanish Prisoner Mamet offers a movie that utilizes talk as its primary element.
Words drive the plot, words create the conflict, words are the atmosphere.